Black Ice
by NotMyself
Summary: Ivory St. John is a fith generation Squire, born to a family of secrets. After making a pledge to her dying father, and after causing the deaths of several Dark-Hunters, she is now being sent to where she will not harm anyone- Alaska.
1. Chapter 1

WINTER SONG

A FanFic By

K.E. THUNEY

Note- I DON'T OWN HE DARK HUNTER LABEL OR SERIES. REMEMBER, THIS IS COMING FROM MY OWN IMAGINATION, SO IF IT SUCKS, I'M SORRY.

CHAPTER ONE

"You're trying to kill my little sister, aren't you?" Sam, my oldest brother, snarled into the phone he held to his ear. His face was slowly turning from a ruddy red color to a violent shade of purple. "Admit it! You're still blaming her for the things she never caused, aren't you?" I sighed as I turned back to my computer screen, shutting down the programs as I picked up the laptop and strode to my room. If my brother was to explode in his rage, I wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. (Knowing my luck, that's probably exactly what would happen.)

I also had knowledge of what he'd shout at Acheron next, and I wanted to not hear the lies that he insisted were the truth. I closed the white wooden door of my bedroom shut, but not before hearing Sam bellow,"She had absolutely nothing to do with those deaths! She was going through unimaginable trauma! She still is!"

In reality, I had gotten over my father's death from lung cancer long ago, since it had been two long years. What I couldn't actually get over were the untimely deaths of Branwen, Eli, and Akori. My 'bosses', each at a different time.

I'd failed them- I was the most clumsy, forgetful, and stupid squire who'd probably walked this earth. And I let them die, though I could have done something- anything- to prevent their deaths. I winced as the reality of this hit me again, like a bullet to the back of my aching head.

Eli was gone.

Dad was gone.

Branwen was gone.

Hell, even Akori was gone.

I was, once again, alone. My mind wandered to a time, not so long ago, when my life had changed forever...

The biggest secret I'd ever had came to me the eve of January 13th, 2006. My father lay dying in a hospital bed, coughing painfully from the reactions he had from the medication they gave him- no matter what they injected, the pain that his lung cancer caused would not go away. He had mere moments left, if that. he had called me to his side, since I was the only child in the family who understood his pain and lived close enough to Miami to see him the most.

"Ivy," He wheezed. "I have no time left here. I have to tell you...the legacy will continue..." He trailed off, his eyes blank and pale. I wiped back tears, probably streaking my mascara across my face, though I didn't care.

"Dad," I wispered, "Please don't talk like that. It's not that bad- they're going to opperate, and you'll be fine. Just hold on for a few days. The pain will be gone."

"Yes, it will;" He agreed, his voice raspy and thin. "For I will not be here longer. I need to tell you though, my daughter, what your future will hold..." He trailed off again, until he snapped back to attention. "You will be a squire, as I was, once I am gone. You shall serve at least one Dark Hunter, as I did. You shall be the eighth generation, and you will live and die for it, as I have..."

I watched him, thinking it was only the medication speaking. Though he was hallucinating, of course, I nodded, humoring the ailing man. "Of course I will, dad," I said, though I had no clue what he was talking about. "Of course I will. I'll carry on the tradition. Like you." He beamed over at me, the old father I knew shining through the cancerous mask.

"I am proud of you, Ivory Emerald Scarlet," He said, "You will carry on the tradition." I nodded, though I had no idea what tradition that was. Suddenly, he began to cough. He wheezed and choked, not stopping, and I noticed a small stream of blood coming out of his mouth...

Just like mom.

I ran out into the hall, my sneakers squeaking against the linoleum floor and I searched frantically for Debra, his nurse, and when I couldn't find her, I began screaming for someone- anyone- to help.

"Nurse!" I screamed, "Help! My dad's dying!"

They had tended to him, and a nurse's assistant had escorted me from the hospital, calling my brother, though I refused to go with him- I had my own car, and besides, I needed some alone time. I think they thought I was going to hurl myself off a cliff, but I eventually persuaded them to let me leave unattended, and I strode through the hospital doors, leaving my past behind me.

Times had changed, I thought looking up at my ceiling as my memory faded into nothingness. I turned my gaze to the dust-covered window, the full moon slightly visible above the tops of illuminated buildings and the palm trees, and another memory bloomed in the window of my tired mind. These were the kinds of nights that I remembered spending near Eli- He would spend all of his time talking to me. Boston was not a hot spot for Daimons, so he would usually sit on the roof of his pre-colonial home with me, looking up at the moon and speaking for hours on end. He understood everything I was going through- before he became a Dark Hunter, he was perfectly happy with his family, in Berlin, until the Holocaust began. They were killed, and Eli was willing to do anything to avenge them... Even sell his very soul.

He was one of the best friends I'd ever had- and now he was...I didn't want to think about it. It made me sick, the very thought of him dead.

But that was the past. He was gone. And so was Branwen.

She had been the very first Dark Hunter I had been assigned to, in Santa Monica, California. She was very sympathetic about my father's death, but still regarded me with strictness which made me feel as though I'd been dropped into a boot camp. Her death really had come as a shock to me- I'd expected her to be much tougher, and I never thought that she'd let her guard down enough to be attacked. But she had, and I was shipped off to Eli, in Boston, without even seeing my family again. I became so attached to him that I didn't want him to meet the same end as Branwen had. But try as I might, time repeated its cruel cycle and yet another tragedy struck.

Luckily, he was not officially declaired dead. He was merely missing. For almost a year and a half.

My latest 'Boss', the fiery tempered Egyptian Dark Hunter Akori, had been much less sympathetic, and more cruel. He had a nasty habit of kicking the crap out of his squires, which is why he went through them so quickly. I had been his last squire, though- he died mysteriously a few days after I received a particularly malicious beating, and they tried to blame me. Honestly, I had nothing to do with his death- I received the call about his death while over at my best friend (And fellow squire) Jen's house, and I was relieved (But nonetheless horrified) about his death.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated in my left pocket. I rolled over, pulled out the small phone, and looked at the mini front screen. I groaned, putting it to my ear.

"What is it, Jen?" I snapped. The young girl paused before she spoke, her french accent more noticeable over the phone.

"A little birdy told me that they're sending you on a new assignment," She taunted. I glared out the window.

"Oh, how strange!" I said sarcastically. "A little birdy told me that you need to get a life." She'd become used to my sarcasm and acidic comments, so she did not take offense to my words.

"I wonder how long it'll take this one to die," She said, her tone cruelly excited. I sighed.

"1-I've heard that he's tougher than you'd think. And 2- I think you have what's called sadism, my friend." I laughed, my voice bitter, and surprisingly, she laughed, too.

"What does that mean?" She finally asked. I laughed again, shaking my head.

"Never mind." I muttered. "Oh good lord, what am I supposed to do?" I whispered, burying my face in my pillows.

"Fake your own death," She suggested, not too helpfully, I might add. I snorted slightly.

"Yes, because that would work so well. I'd probably end up accidentally killing myself, anyway." I noted, My voice grim.

"It worked for me," She told me. I laughed.

"You don't have my luck," I reminded her. She paused, considering this.

"That's true. So, there's no way to avoid it?" She inquired quietly,"You leave tomorrow?"

I fought back tears as I replied. "I leave tomorrow," I agreed quietly, my voice losing what happy note it might have had. The note my heart had lost long ago.

"I will be there," My best friend said, her voice strong. "Before you leave. We all will."

"I'll appreciate it," I said, wiping the tears form my eyes, my voice now thick with sadness. "Thank you."

"It's just to get one last look at you," She admitted. "You might not come back."

On that happy note, Jen hung up her phone, leaving me with a dial tone and many thoughts about how many ways I could die, where they were sending me. The possibilities were, truly, endless.

The next morning, I was wide awake at excactly 1:05 a.m, after getting about 3 hours of sleep. I reorganized my bags about five times, making sure that I'd cleare out all of my drawers and cabinets, and watched television for about 10 minutes before I became bored. I looked over at my clock.

1:17...

My flight left at six, and we'd leave for the airport at four. I knew I should have gotten some sleep, so I was wide awake and alert on the plane, but my mind would not rest, and I soon found sleep to be impossible. It flashed between Branwen, Eli, My father, and, most disturbingly, Akori. How they'd died, and how I might die. Who knows- maybe Jen was right. Maybe I should have just faked my death and ran. But I couldn't. I wasn't weak, and I wouldn't fail my father.

Not again.

I looked back up at the digital clock.

1:18...

Time was dragging by at a snails pace, minutes elongated into years. After about five more minutes of staring at my clock, I decided to go for a run, to clear my head and take in the sights of Miami's suburban area, one more time. I pulled on sweatpants, jogging shoes, and a tee shirt, leaving he house quietly and shutting the door behind me.

Running across the empty streets and sidewalks of Miami, hearing the pavement under my feet, I began to relax. My breathing calmed, my eyes grew heavy, and soon I was yawning every five seconds. I pulled off to the side of the road, sitting on the curb on Mulroney st., trying to catch my breath and avoid passing out on the side of the road.

"Having a nice run?" A voice said from behind me. I jumped to attention, pulling a small dagger out of my pocket (Always be prepared for anything, kids. That is my only advice to you.). As I realized who spoke, I lowered the dagger and glowered at Acheron.

"You just scared the crap out of me, ash! " I hissed, my tone warning. Though I was mortal, I was leathal. "Please, don't do that again, especially on an empty Miami street at 2 in the morning. I might not hesitate next time."

He nodded, smiling at my almost meaningless threat. Though I was deadly, I was nothing compared to him. He was deadly. To anyone.

"Sorry," He said, though he really didn't sound sorry. I nodded, accepting this.

"What did you need?" I asked, struggling to keep my tone polite. He shrugged slightly, looking for the entire world like a regular American teenager.

"I heard that you were anxious about your latest assignment," He said truthfully. I nodded again, agreeing with him.

"He's going to kill me," I whispered, " I know it." He chuckled darkly.

"You and Sam share the same fear. Don't worry, I'm sure that if you're killed, your friends will avenge you." I stared at him, wide eyed with disbelief, until he laughed again, the sound lighter than before. "He won't kill you, I'm kidding. Just, please, give him a chance. He's got a good heart, underneath the hatred."

"And if I don't want to?" I asked. He glared at me, looking terrifying.

"Do you really want to ask that question, Ivory?" He said, his voice warning.

I snorted in defiance, and turned away. "I'm still going to die, aren't I?" I asked.

"Well, of course you are, some day. You're mortal." I turned to him, my eyes alive with hatred, until I saw that he was gone. I threw the dagger with lethal accuracy at a tree, shouting and cursing in rage. I stood in silence until I crossed the lawn to the tree, pulling out the small, gleaming weapon before I turned and continued down the street, my fists clenched in hatred and anger.

"Wake up, Ivy!" Shaun called, stomping on my stomach. "You're leaving in fifteen minutes!" I jumped to my feet, noticing that I'd fallen asleep clutching my dagger in my hands. I wiped off the blood, cursing under my breath at the fact that I'd fallen asleep.

"By the way," Sam reminded me, "You're phone is almost charged. You'll call us when you get there, alright?" I nodded, looking around the room once more. I'd probably not be coming back- at least for a while. I pulled my phone off of its charger, glaring at my brother.

"You've told me that twice, Sam. I'm not a child, I understand." I strode into my room, looking once more at the blank walls. I sighed, picking up my suitcases in both of my hands. I continued walking, my bare feet padding against the linoleum floor of our villa.

"I'm leaving, now!" I yelled. Shaun came to me first, hugging me tightly.

"You'll come back, right?" He whispered. I nodded, and I saw tears as they lept into the young boy's eyes. I hugged my youngest brother once more before I left, shutting the door and hearing it slam shut behind me. I walked around to the garage, clicking on the light and walking to my small red corvette. God, I'd miss this thing when I was gone. It was the only indulgence I allowed myself, and one of the only things I couldn't bring with me. I'd raised serious hell over this, but no one would budge.

I climbed inside, only allowing myself to cry once I'd reassured myself that the windows were tinted and no one could hear me in the sound proof garage.

Feeling ashamed, I pulled my hair back from my eyes and dried them, revving the engine before opening the automatic doors and speeding down the crowed Miami streets, once again leaving my family and life behind me.

"You're very nearly late," Jen told me, a note of acid in her voice as I stepped from my car, pulling on my sunglasses. I shrugged, locking the door behind me as I continued down the dirt hill toward the landing spot, where a small, private helicopter waited for me. I grimaced as I realized she was following me. Continuing down the hill as though she was not bothering me at all, I saw my oldest brother, Todd, talking to the pilot. He was probably going over safety regulations, treating me as though I was a child, as Sam had been. I glared over at them, quickening my pace as I jogged toward them.

"You ready to go, kid?" Todd asked, smiling at me.

"No," I told him truthfully. He laughed, turning back to Mike.

"You'll take care of my sister, alright?" Todd said to him. He nodded, smiling again at my brother.

"For as long as I can. I'm not gonna be there the entire time. " I grimaced.

"Thanks, guys. Way to bring up my hopes." I muttered, pulling open the door to the chopper. I waved once to my brother, to the other squires, and to Jen before I shut the door and was, once again, cut off from society.

Mike's voice came to me through a speaker system as soon as we took off.

"Wow. What the hell did you do to get sent up here?" He asked sympathetically. I glared at the speaker, looking out the window.

"Nothing. I just have really bad luck." He snorted.

"Whatever." He muttered. "Grenade in a gas station," He breathed, his voice almost inaudible. I glared at the small box, resisting the urge to rip it out and throw it at him.

I cotinued to ignore him as I pressed a button and the thick glass screen went up, blocking him out. I put my headphones on, which I found to be playing the end of Evanescence's _Hello:_

_" Suddenly, I know that I'm not sleeping, Hello, I'm still here, All that's left of yesterday,"_

I flicked off the small mp3, throwing it so that it hit a window. I was in no mood for this.

I had enough death in my life as it was.

Suddenly, my phone rang. I pulled it out, and without even checking the caller ID, I opened it.

"What do you want?" I snapped. There was a pause on the other line.

"How did you know it was me?" Jen inquired softly. I sighed.

"Lucky guess. Now, what do you want?" I asked again.

"What was your problem today?" She asked. I gritted my teeth, looking out the window.

"How would you react to this situation, Jen?" I hissed. She laughed quietly.

"I wouldn't even react- I'd fake my own death as soon as they told me." I snorted before continuing.

"Do you think that would work for me, knowing my luck?" I asked, my laughter dark and cruel. She was quiet before her tone became more serious.

"Be careful, Ivy- really, try. This guy is unstable with a capital 'U', and I don't want you to get hurt." She whispered. I smiled bitterly.

"I can take care of myself, Jen. I'll be fine, please don't worry." I said, my voice cracking slightly under the weight of the lie I was telling.

"You know how many squires I knew who said things like that, then ended up dead a week later?" She whispered. I stayed quiet and she continued. "I hope you enjoy what time you might have left, Ivy. It was nice knowing you." With that said, she hung up, leaving me clutching my phone to my ear.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke with a start to find myself sprawled across the black leather seat of the plane, and I cursed loudly. Anything could have happened while I slept- terrorists could have overtaken the plane, it could have exploded into a billion firey pieces, I could have suffered a heart attack. As I thought these, I scoffed at their stupidity. I knew I was just being paranoid-then again, where I was going, my paranoia might be the only thing seperating me from life anddeath. I could end up with a knife (or a bullet) in my back at any time.

I looked down at my phone as it vibrated against the leather seat, and frowned at the text message in my inbox.

from- unlisted number

message- squire, whoever u r, i'm not going 2 b the landing. a snowmobile will b nearby. U know the way?  
though I knew who it was from, I felt the need to check, and I laid my face against the cool glass of the window as I typed a response-  
message- is this zarek?  
The reply was swift and biting.

message- duh. again, do u know the way?  
I glared at the small screen, finally feeling the cool air of the inclosed space, which almost seemed to beclosing in on me. The clicking of the keys on my BlackBerry was the only sound in the small room.

message- i suppose i do. see u in a few hours, psycho-ass.

I laughed loudly, but his anger was obvious in his response, which surprised me and almost caused me to drop my phone-  
message- more like a few _minutes_, ice queen. have fun freezing.

I gasped, looking over at the clock in the top corner of the small electronic-indeed, it was almost 10:30, the time Mike said that we would land. I could almost hear the minutes ticking away, and I felt even more panicked than before. Zarek sent no more messages, and I was left alone with my fear and the frenzied beating of my heart.

"Ivy!" Mike shouted from the ground. "Hurry up! I'm fucking freezing out here!" I resisted the urge to stop my foot like a five year old and refuse to exit the helicopter, but instead gazed silently around at my surroundings. The ground was entire covered by the snow which was still falling-everything was white, from the mountains in the distance to the trees in front of me. The trees were nothing like the trees I grew up around- they resembled fir trees and pine trees, which made my heart ache for my palm trees and small backyard. A small town was visible in the valley of one of the large moutnains.

I absolutely hated it.

Mike moved to help me down, his boots crunching in the snow. He sat beside me on the edge of the chopper, sighing deeply. "Damnit, what are they thinking, sending you here?" He muttered. "You're not even 18 yet, are you?"

"I'm nearly 20, thank you very much," I told him hautily, looking over at the snow. It was really beautiful, I had to admit. He sighed again. "But couldn't they have sent you to, like, New Orleans, or something?" I snorted.

"Tell me, Mike, how much trouble do you think I would get into in New Orleans?" I countered. He laughed slightly.

"True, I guess. But doesn't Kyrian need a squire? What about Talon?" I sighed deeply, shrugging. I kicked my feet out, and found that the toes of my shoes barely touched the snowy ground. I jumped down, falling gracelessly onto my ass. He jumped down as well, holding out a hand to help me up.

"Thanks," I muttered. he nodded. "And to answer your question, no. Kyrian has Nick to squire for him, if you could even call it that. And you know how Talon is." He nodded again, knowing what I was talking about. For some odd reason, Talon refused to have a squire, though god knew he needed one. Though it seemed rather rude, I did not consider Nick a very...oh, a very expearianced squire. A sweetheart, yes, since I'd met him on a trip to New Orleans and he'd tried to get into my pants, but not thebest fighter or the smartest. I could actually make a list of squires who could work much better for Kyrian.

I, unfortunately, would not be on that list.

But I shrugged this fact away as I picked up the small backpack which had fallen in the snow beside me, slinging it over my shoulder. It contained my mp3 player, several books that I had intended to read earlier, and my laptop. My phone was in my pocket.

"Welcome to hell, Ivory," He muttered. I ignored him as I walked around the helicopter, noticing a small shed a few feet away. I walked over to it curiously, opening it silently. The door creaked open, and I expected to find some old, long forgotten tool shed. What I found caught me by surprise.

The small shed reminded me slightly of talon's garage, which I had seen only once. It was a total mess of modern-looking equipment which I could probably break by touching for only a second, some of which I could probably not even pronounce correctly. I grimaced as I saw a small, sleek black snowmobile sitting in the center of the room, as if waiting for me. Hell, I didn't even know how to drive a snowmobile. I sighed as I saw the keys sitting on the black seat, frowning as I took them. _Where the hell is the ignition?_ I thought.

Locating it, I stuck the key violently inside, and for a second nothing happened. I worried that I had broken it, until the engine roared to life and I jumped slightly. I laughed at my own fear, chiding myself silently. Mike appeared at the door, looking in at the monstrous machine.

"Holy shit," He breathed, looking at it with a sick kind of awe. "Do you know how expensive that thing probably was?" He looked almost jealous for a second.

"Here, Mike," I said snidely. "You can take the really shiny snowmobile to be Zarek's squire, and I'll take your helicopter and get the hell out of Alaska." He snorted, coming back to the real world.

"Fat chance, kid," he said. "Do you even know how to drive a snowmobile, though?"

I shook my head, and he crossed the small shed to pick me up and set me on the seat. I blushed slightly, keeping my head down as he showed me how to control the sleek black machine. I nodded once he finished explaining, and I carefully guided the snowmobile out of the shed.

I laughed as I turned circles around the helicopter, darting in and out of the trees surrounding the landing spot. I was having fun, in a place i didn't even consider vaugely fun!  
That was, until I slammed into a tree. Just another example of my luck and my stupidity.

Mike ran over to me, looking worried. I felt dizzy and could barely walk, but I was alive. "Oh, good mother of god," He muttered, helping me back onto the snowmobile. "Please leave, before you kill yourself on that thing. besides, Zarek will be waiting," He said, without a lack of bitterness in his tone.

I nodded again, reaching up to hug my friend. "Goodbye, Mike," I said sadly. "Say 'hi' to everyone in Miami who knows I'm here. Tell them I'm safe. do the same for the New-Orleans crew, okay?" he nodded, looking sadly down at me.

"Bye, rainbow-kid." He muttered. I smiled at my old nickname. I suppose I should explain about that. When I was about ten, my father first introduced me to mike. I mean, he _really_ introduced me -full name and all. Ivory Emerald Scarlet Violet Verde Sunlight , mother had named me. Since that moment, the moment we were introduced, Mike had called me the rainbow-kid. The nickname stuck through Elementery School, but then faded, and I had not heard it since then. But this revival of my old name gave me hope for the future, hope that someday I would return to my actual life.

I let go of him, waving once more before making my way back over to the snowmobile. I turned back.

"Hey, Mike!" I called. He turned. "Punch Nick in the stomach for me, will you?" He gave a bark of laughter, nodding to me. I smiled in satisfaction before climbing akwardly back onto the snowmobile and beginning my trecherous journey over the snowy terrain.

As I crossed the snowy ground at speeds almost too quickly to see, my mind raced. I'd heard that Zarek was insane-were the roumers true? I didn't want to die. Why was I doing this? Why was _Acheron_ doing this to me? Was it punishments for what was in my past? The trail of blood and death that followed me over coninents?

I stopped for a moment to check to see if I was still going in the right direction, and I heard movement from the trees behind me. I was over 300 miles away from both Zarek and Mike, so who could it have been? I moved slowly toward the trees, pulling out the small dagger that I held in my gloved hands.

"Come out with your hands up," I said in warning tones, sounding very much like Elliot on Law & Order. I heard more movement before I jumped at the trees, stopping before I stabbed a small boy. He stared up at me with wide black eyes, which were full of fear. His blond hair hung over an angel's face, ice coating his blond eyelashes. He stared anxiously up at me, a scream frozen on his lips.

"Mommy!" He cried, leaping at me. He hugged me tightly, burying his small face into my shoulder. He sniffed at me for a moment, raising his face to gaze suspiciously at me. "_You're_ not my mommy," he said accusingly.

"Um, no," I said confusedly. "I'm Ivory. Who are you?"

"Ivory and Ebony," He sang in a clear, high voice. "The twins of destruction. You're her? Where's the mean one?"

I laughed at the mention of the old fairy tale children, who were two godesses of Pain and Torture in Apollite and Greek legends. The latter, Ebony, was the goddess of Torture, one who would kill without remorse. Her lighter twin, the one who saw the pain she cause and was remorsefull, had fallen from Olympus, to live among the humans she had tried to break down in pain. Her sister was said to still remain in chains, waiting for revenge.

I was named for the one who had seen the good, my father had told me. He had found the tale interesting and decided to name one of his children after them. My mother had chosen the rest of my name.

"No, I'm not her, but I'm named for her. Who are you?" I asked kindly. He shrugged, thinking.

"I don't know, goddess lady. I think I'm Nikitas, but I don't remember.I know I'm rhis many, though," He raised four fingers,looking up at me."Hey, Missus Godess Lady- Where is my mommy?" He asked. I shrugged, before I heard a gutteral, dying groan from the trees. I took the frozen hand of Nikitas, walking wiht him. I let go of his little hand when I saw a beautiful, tall blond Daimon woman spalyed across the icy floor, obviously dead, the source of the dying cry I had heard. Not letting Nikitas see this sight, I casually asked him,

"Nikitas, What does your mother look like?" He smiled, showing small fangs, as I feared.

"She's really, really pretty. And she's blond. She has really pretty eyes, like mine. They're black. She's also tan. I don't know where mommy went, though. Can you take me to her?" He inquired. "I miss Her, really, really bad." I bit back tears for the little boy, picking him up.

"Come on, Nikitas, we need to get you inside. You're freezing." He nodded, allowing me to carry him to the snowmobile as he snuggled into my chest and quickly fell alseep in my jacket.

With the small Apollite boy snuggled in my ski jacket, I sped across the barren landscape, praying to all of the gods to speed the snomobile along and not let the little boy die of hypotheria, or some other cause. I barely wondered what Zarek was going to say when he saw him.


	3. I Kick My New Boss!

Chapter 3

I reached the small town that Mike had discribed before sunrise, with just a little time to rent a hotel room and call Jen. She answered on the first ring, and I found myself sitting on the edge of the floral-patterned sheets, watching Nikitas sleep as I told her the entire story- finding his mother dead, finding Nikitas nearly frozen into a block of ice, and what the hell I was going to tell Zarek.

She was silent for a few more mintues as realization sunk in. "You mean you have a child of the enemy sleeping in your hotel room?" She finally hissed. I groaned silently as to not wake the sleeping boy.

"Jen, what kind of damage could he possibly do?" I snapped. "He's four years old, for god's sake. It's not like he has killed anyone." _Yet_, My mind said darkly. I forced these thoughts from my head as I clutched my cell phone tighter, listening to her response.

"The problem is, one day he's going to. And Zarek is too insane to care about a little Apollite. What is going to happen when he grows up?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" She sighed, sending a wave of static in the phone line.

"How are you going to keep him alive?"

"He's going to have to leave soon, I guess. It's not like I'm adopting him," I said uneasily. She snorted.

"What, you're just going to find a nice Daimon family to raise him?" She said snidely. This was what worried me the most- the thought of little, innocent Nikitas, Being raised by the monsters that preyed on innocent humans. Of him becoming one of the monsters thatthe Dark-Hunters had sworn to kill. She was silent as she waited for my reply.

"You know what, Jen?" I yelled. "Shut the hell up. What would you do if James was an Apollite?" I immedeately was overcome with regret, upon mentioning Jennifer's little brother who still lived in France, who was battling Cancer. She was angry with me, I could tell.

"I'd kill him," She said in a sickeningly calm voice. "Or get one of the Dark-Hunters to kill him if he ever went Daimon." Not expecting this to be her response, I was silent in shock. James was pretty much up there with God on her list of important people. Right up there with God and Orlando Bloom. This showed a lot about how devoted she was to the Dark-Hunters and Acheron.

"I'm sorry I said that, Jen, but-" She cut me off bitterly, in a voice colder than the Alaskan hotel room.

"Just forget it, Ivy. Bye." She hung up, leaving me once more with the quietly snoring Apollite child and my thoughts on how I'd keep him alive. Forget Zarek- the one I needed to keep him away from was Jennifer. She had just proved to me how crazy she really was.

"What brings you to Alaska, little lady?" The man at the back counter of the small store said when I entered, Nikitas at my side. The man was a heavyset, perhaps in his late 50s, with a greyand black beard on his chin. "You don't look like a local."

I smiled in an almost ruefull gesture. "What gave it away?" I said with a laugh. Nikitas stayed silent, shy as always. He gripped my hand tighter.

"You're not used to the weather yet, I can tell. Stay up here a while, and you will be. Also, you're not inside on a day like this." I looked out of the windows again and saw that it was, once again, snowing. I lost my smile instantly, groaning and stomping my foot down.

"Oh, come on! I have to drive in this!" I growled angrily. The man behind the counter laughed.

"Like I said, you'll get used to it soon enough. Where are you going, anyway?" I rubbed my head, staving off a migrane.

"I have a new job-I'm the personal assistant to a man living here in town." I said, not willing to give many details.

"You mean Zarek?"

I was shocked, for the second time of the day, and I answered cautiously. "You know him?" I asked.

"I've heard his name once or twice, and he comes in to town occasionally in the winter months. But other than that, no. He's not really a very social person, from what I can gather. I'm sure he lives alone." He gave me a look, then looked down to Nikitas. "Why, is this your son, ma'am?"

I shook my head quickly. "Oh, no, he's my nephiew. He came to live with me here, in Alaska, while I work for Zarek." I gave a silent prayer that Nikitas wouldn't break his shy silence just yet. Surprisingly, he did, and his response to the man's question startled me. He losened his grip on my hand, grabbing my legs tightly.

"She's my Auntie Ivory." He said quietly, staring up at the man. The man chuckled.

"Ivory?" He repeated. I nodded. "I'm Charles Bunkner. Nice to meet you."

"You, too," I said with a smile at the friendliest person I'd met in that little town. "Come on, Nik. We have to go see Auntie Ivy's new boss." I looked down, and with a small smile, I saw a small carved statue of a cowboy rising a bucking bronco. I faught back a laugh as I picked it up and set it back down. Now, who could've done that? It almost looked a little too much like Sundown, to me.

There is nothing in this little town that is normal, and that ittle statue just proved that to me.

I smiled again at the man, and Nikitastook my hand as we walked out of the small warm store.

"New boss is nice?" He asked as I pulled him onto my lap, sitting down on the snowmobile which I was still getting used to driving.

"Nope," I said, hoping that he didn't hear me. I wouldn't want to give him any misconceptions about the psychopath that we just might have to live with. But he said not a word as we sped off into the snowy morning.

Being the idiot I am, and with my luck, I forgot to fill up the gas tank on the snowmachine before I left with Nikitas to see Zarek, thus I ran out of gas about an hour away from the location of Zarek's 'home'. So I ended up in the middle of a snowy, barren wasteland, with no cell phone (I left mine in the damned hotel room), and a now-sleeping Apollite child. I'm sure somewhere, the Gods were laughing at me.

"Damnit!" I hissed as the snowmobile spluttered to a stop. I knew it could go fast, but with no gas it was just a shiny piece of metal.

"What'd you say?" Asked Nikitas sleepily. I froze.

"Nothing!" I said quickly, looking around. Just as I suspected- nothing. Not even any trees, let alone a house. I cursed again, quieter this time.

Suddenly, I remembered reading something in a magazine about a woman who had been trapped in a situation like this once. She had thought of her husband's name and then thought of where she was, and he found her quickly. ESP, they said. I didn't neccicaraly believe in that stuff- but then again, I worked for Gods and immortal vampire slayers. How crazy could it get? Might as well try it.

Now, Zarek wasn't my husband, but I was pretty sure that it might work, despite the fact that I had no frigging clue where I was.

_Hey, asshole, _I thought. _It's your squire. And unless you want me to freeze to death, come and get me once it gets dark. I'm about an hour away from you. Come and rescue me, prince charming! _I added sarcasticly, feeling insane.

Since I was really sure no one was coming to rescue us, I though first to get Nikitas to a safe place, where he was less likely to die of hypothermia. I saw, about a quarter of a mile away, a small shape in the snow, unmoving. First thinking of a dead body, then a dead Dark-Hunter, I began to run toward it. Nikitas groaned sleepily in my arms.

"I don't wanna go to preeschool!" He murmured. "Lemme sleep!"

I smiled, despite the situation, as I aproached the shape, and found it to be a collection of bushes. I wasn't sure what kind, but this would be a good place to keep Nikitas out of the storm until it passed, so I situated myself with him among the leaves. It wasn't comfortable, but it was dry and not being thrown about by wind, so it would have to do.  
Before I could stop myself, I fell asleep.

"Hey, you!" A voice called. Strangely, I found myslef no longer in the snowstorm. As i looked around, I found that the place was strangely familiar, and the it hit me like a freight train.

Oh, no. I was no where near the snow. I was on Olympus. And I wasn't alone, I noticed, as the young girl chained to what looked like a rock called to me again.

"Dumb bitch!" She hissed. "Can you hear me, or are you a mute?"

"I can hear you!" I glared at her, and also saw that she was familiar. Then that also came to me. Our faces were almost identicle, down to the long dark hair and the scar on both of our cheeks. Except, I noticed, that she was wearing greek slave clothing, and I was wearing the clothing of a royal. "Who are you?"

She snorted. "And I thought that you were smart, kid. I'm your twin, dumbass."

"Wash out your mouth!" I snapped."And no, you're not."

"Yes, O godess of pain, I am."

"Then why are you chained up?" I asked. "And I'm not Ivory of the myths! I'm Ivory of Miami! I just happen to have bad luck."

"Okay, O godess of pain who currently residing in Alaska, why do you hurt people then?"

"It's not my fault! AND YOU DIDN'T ANSWER MY QUESTION!" I suddenly realized that I had a whip in my right hand, the weight of it heavy in my palm. I struck out with it, hitting the girl on the arm. She shouted in pain, kneeling down as blood stained her tunic and her arms.

"It's fun, isn't it?" She breathed raggidly. "Giving out pain. Recieving it, however? Not so much." I gasped, dropping the whip. She reached out, breakingone of her chains as she grabbed the whip.

"Yes, little twin," She giggled darkly. "My bonds are breaking. Go and cause more chaos. I'll leave you with a reminder." She slashed the air with the whip, and I felt the end of it catch my arm and drag me down. She pulled it back like a snake, and when she did, I saw that I was left with marks around my wrist, though there was no blood.

"Ivory!" Someone else shouted, and I heard someone else scream loudly. Then I lost the will to stay consious as I konked out unconsious in the house of the Gods.

"Missus Godess Lady?" Whispered a voice that I recognised as Nikitas. "Please stop screaming, Godess lady. That's only a bad dream. Calm down, you're gonna scare the guy over there."

I sat up immedeately, a weapon once more in my hands. I barely registered that I had large, angry looking bruises on my wrists. "Nikitas, calm down,yourself. It's probably someone lost, like us." But I wasn't really willing to take any chances on that. "Stay here, okay? I'll be right back."

So I went forward to confront whoever or whatever it was. As came closer, I saw that it was a man, perhaps 6'7" or so, wearing all black. I assumed it was Zarek, though the hair color was invisible through the snow.

"Who are you?" I asked, shouting over the wind. There was no reply, and suddenly I realized that this person was probably dangerous. Taking up every ounce of my strength and drawing myself up to my full height of five foot four, I used all of my might to roundhouse kick the man in the groin. He fell to the ground, scremaing profanities as I kicked him again. Then I heard his voice, thickened with pain and what I recognized as a Greek accent.

"What the fuck, squire?" He screamed. "You're more insane than I am! What, were you luring me out here to rape me, or something?"

Oh, shit. I helped him up quickly, mortified beyond belief. "H-h-hello, Zarek, sir!" I squeeked.

"So you're my squire?" He said, looking at me, no longer in pain, apparently. Dark-Hunters heal fairly quickly. "The least they could've done was send me someone better looking."

I glared at him, then, for good measure, I kicked him sharply in the crotch again. He dodged me quickly, expecting it this time. "What is that supposed to mean?" I shouted, already hating him.

"Do you always solve your problems with violence, lady?" He snapped, grabbing my foot to stop me from attacking anymore. Flipping me upside down by my foot, I crossed my arms and felt all the blood rush to my head.

"You didn't answer my question!" I wailed. "Nobody ever does!"

"Maybe it's because some answers aren't excactly what you're looking for," He replied, "And the truth hurts, baby."

I ignored him as he let me back down. "Come on. My...adopted little nephiew came with me. Well, actually, I found him," He gave me a strange look. "But I'll explain later. I just don't want him to die of hypothermia, or something."

"Why not?" He asked. "He's not really yours, and it's a dog-eat-dog world out there."

"He's FIVE!" I shouted. "For God's sake!"

He walked across before the barren landscape before I could catch up, and he stared at little Nikitas, who had fallen asleep, aparently. He turned slowly to face me, scarrier than the Devil himself and twice as handsome.

"You brought an Apollite to live with us, you insane bitch?" He asked me in a dark, warning voice. I resisted the urge to cry, though it was tempting.

"I couldn't leave him to freeze to death!" I cried. "He's FIVE, may I remind you?"

"Well, I'm leaving him, and if you don't want to freeze to death, too, you'll come with me and leave him."

"Have fun explaining to Acheron that you let me die!" I retorted, thinking that he was bluffing. His face stayed cold and calm. "Oh my gods. You're not kidding, are you? You'll really leave a five year old to die?"

"I'm four," Said a little voice with a lisp. We both looked down again to see Nikitas staring down at us. "And where you going, auntie? Why can't I go?"

"Ask him," I said, pointing to Zarek accusingly. Nikitas turned his pleading face to Zarek.

"I was alone here one time. I don't wanna be again, and I want auntie Godess to go with you still and be cozy. Do you like her?" He aksed. "Are you her boyfriend? If you are, don't leave her here. That's what happened to momma, and now she's gone. I don't want auntie to be gone, too."

His little speech brought tears to my eyes, and Zarek was silent. Then he sighed, apparently giving up. "No, kid, I'm not your aunt's boyfriend, but I won't leave her here. Or you, either. I don't like you, but I'm not that sadistic." He grinned over at me, not a friendly smile.

"Now, come on. It's gonna be dawn pretty soon, and unless you want to be here alone again, you'll get moving."

This was my 1st encounter with my new boss.


	4. Why I Fear Drowning

His house wasn't the best-I could tell that much from gazing upon it from outside of the shed where Zarek had told me to store the keys to te snow mobile. In fact, it made our little condo in Miami look like a mansion. Turning around to face him, I stared almost accusingly as he joined me on the small hill of snow between the world outside and the small home.

"You honestly couldn't have made it look any nicer?" I said with a laugh, walking toward it and succeeding in stumbling down the incline before I actually caught my balance. Zarek walked a few feet behind me, and I could tell he was trying his best to come up with an insult good enough to match mine.

"At least I own it. Have you ever owned any houses, Malibu Barbie?" I wheeled around and glared at him, my hands on my hips.

"Okay, G.I. Joe, and it's Miami Barbie to you." I turned and continued to march toward the house. He caught me on the shoulder, and I turned back to him, ready with another insult. "What do you want, you son of a-"

"Listen." I paused, and slowly, I heard a noise that sounded like boots crunching in the snow. But after Zarek had spoken, we'd both fallen silent. And since Nikitas was...

...Nikitas!

I repeated this out loud, my voice on the verge of hysterics."Where are you, Nikitas?" I said, secretly hoping he'd pop up out of the snow and yell 'surprise'!

Yeah, and Zarek was suddenly not going to hate me. I was pretty sure there was more of a chance of that happening than Nikitas showing up. Oh, God, when had I last seen him? We had been putting the snowmobile away, and...

...and I had left him with Zarek. I turned around again, slowly, dangerously.

"Zarek," I said quietly, fighting the rage which made me want to pound his pretty face in until it resembled ground beef, more or less, "Where is my nephiew?"

"How should I know?"

"You lost him?!"

"Hey, lady, you had him last."

"No, I left him with you!"

"No, you didn't!"

"Yes I did!"

"No!"

"Yes!" By this time we were inches away, yelling in each other's faces. I was too preoccupied to notice the sound, though it had started again, I noticed once I began to listen.

"Yeah?" He whispered. "Get used to it, honey. This is how the insanity starts eating away at you. Soon you're having screaming fights with walls and people who aren't even here."

"Yeah?" I repeated. "I think I can damn well handle it. I'd probably shoot the wall before I argues with it." He grinned, and I caught a flash of a sharp looking white fang backed away.

"Good girl. Your parents taught you well," He said with a dark laugh, wandering through the knee-high snow, probably looking for Nikitas. "Oh, little annoying brat from Hell! Where are you?"

"Don't say that!" I said, packing a ball of snow then throwing it at him with all of my might. It hit him squarely in the back, and he turned around, a snowball in his hand. He flicked his wrist and the ball of packed ice hit me in the chest, knocking the wind from me and forcing me back. I fell on the gound, could not get up, and felt the sensation of drowning.

Drowning. That reminds me of something... I thought, and before I knew it I found myself back outside of the temple belonging to some long-forgotten god or goddess. The torches glowed on the walls, and gave my body more of a bronze glow than it already had. That was when I realized that I was someone else.

"You nasty, lying bitch!" Someone shouted in ancient Greek. Surprizingly, I understood. Not surprizingly, they were speaking to me. Damn, why do the crazies go after me?

Someone grabbed my arm, and I looked over to see a young girl, maybe two years younger than me, holding a pitcher and glancing anxiously into a darkened hallway. "You have to leave, Goddess! He's angered tonight."

"Why?" I answered in flawless, bored-toned Greek. "Did the wars not go his way today? A pity. He should not blame the soldiers, who are out on the front dying for he sould join them- Maybe he'll actually learn what it means to respect a human being, for once."

"My lady," She murmured under her breath, motioning for me to follow her down the hallway. "It would not be wise to linger here."

"I am his wife!" I cried angrily. "I may linger however long I would like!"

"Yes, my lady, but I fear for your safety if you stay here," She murmured meekly. I felt my eyes narrow in a hatefull glare that so was not the regular me.

"I do not, Aristodeme," I said, holding my head high, "And that is the difference between you and I. That is why I am a queen, and a Goddess, and you are simply a slave."

"Yes, my lady," She said, scurrying off to do one of her chores. "But please, I beg you, heed my warning!" She turned back, looking for my reaction, which was an arm wave and an eye roll.

"Go!" I cried, pushing open one of the ornate gold doors leading into a room I probably recognized, in this state, but psychologically, I was lost. All I knew is that whoever my 'husband' was resided through these doors, and if I was ever going to get to the bottom of why I remebered this damned situation, I'd have to confront him. If only I knew who he was...

"Iccarius?" I called, not knowing really why this name came to mind. I continued to push open the door, then I found a dimly lit room, maybe an office of sorts, filled with papers and detailed maps of the terrain.

We're near Athens, I thought randomly.

"Ivory! I thought I told you to stay out of here!" Said a voice, and I turned to see an exceptionally handsome young man, about my age (Though in this state, I had no idea what that might have been), with a deep tan skin tone and gently waving black hair, muscles and a stern frown.

"Is there word from the others?" I whispered. He smiled, walking forward and taking my hand.

"I do not keep counsel with the gods," He said with a dark laugh, "Is that not your duty?"

"I have fallen from Olympus, Iccarius," I told him, looking away, out to one of the windows leading out onto a patio. "You know that." I tried to reclaim my hand, but he did not let me go.

"Are you sure? You cannot reinstate contact with them again?"

"I could talk to Apollo and Aphrodite, and maybe Hera," I said, wreching my hand from his grasp. "But I know the others would hate me. I am weak. I am unfit to rule as the goddess of pain. I should not have even told you of my sister-she could truly cause damage, if anyone angers her. But I am most affraid of..." I trailed off.

"Artemis and Zeus," He finished. Ashamed, I nodded.

"They helped to banish me." My mind flashed to a night, many years even from the 2,000 + I was already away from my home, a stormy and cold night. Apparently, the goddess version of Ivory had decided to confront her sister about some punishment they'd dealt out earlier, realizing that it was wrong. I could see, ironically, it was the beating of Iccarius, someone for which Ivory had fallen. There was shouting, and hitting, and even a terrible stabbing, but before Ivory could defend herself, Ebony ran to Zeus and Artemis, their temples being closest to those of the twins. She claimed that her sister had a plan to abandon the parthenon for favor of earthly pleasures, and was going to kill Ebony to get away. Being unconsious and nable to defend herself, Ivory was locked up on the very chains, the chains that now trapped Ebony, and was put on trial. No gods or goddesses besides Aphrodite, Apollo, and Hera had voted to keep her, so they sent her down in a blaze of glory-litterally. They (Zeus and a few others) had conjoured a lightening strike powerfull enough to grab her, toss her down mount Olympus and into the sea beside Greece, where she was saved by Iccasrius. By the time everyone realized that Ebony had been lying about her sister's betrayal, and by the time she was trapped in her own sister's prison for the safety of the gods and the human race, it was too late. Ivory had become only a human with the minor powers of the goddess of pain, with no choice but to marry and live on the remainder of her sickeningly short human life as a mortal living in fear of her gods.

'My dear, you must not live in fear of them any longer," He said soothingly. "You are a mortal now. They cannot hurt you."

"I am more vounerable now more than ever before!" I cried. "And I must get away from them if I am to live without fear!"

"Fear is the lifeblood of the human race, my dear. We must thrive on it or we must perish."

"Then I fear I shall perish," I said weakly, my body shaking with fear.

"Then perish you shall, but if you are destroyed, so goes my heart. You must know that," He raised my hand, which he held again, and touched it to his lips. I smiled.

"But we musn't think of that now-it's a beautiful night. You must be tired from the toils of war, my love, but walk with me a bit. I shall not want to be alone on a night such as this."

"Of course. Come," He lead me out onto the balcony, and we gazed out at the city. Very close to Athens, I thought. I can see the lights of the city from here.

"Isn't it lovely?" I said, stareing up at the half moon. He did not respond, instead picking me up and setting me on the edge of the balcony. I giggled like a child, and he leaned over to kiss me.

"I'm sorry," Iccarius murmured against my lips. I smiled dreamily.

"Whatever for?"

"For this." And then, before I could protest, fight back, or scream, he pushed me with all of his might off of the edge of the balcony, to the sharp and jagged rocks below and the river under them. I screamed when the rocks ripped through the fabric of my dress and through my skin, and I felt the blood staining my chest. I looked down and saw, to my horror, a long sharp rock, maybe one and a half feet long, sticking through my chest, through my heart. I looked back up to Iccarius.

"Why?" I gasped. He looked down.

"Live in fear of your gods no longer, Ivory," He said, beginning to walk away."I've set you free, little goddess."

My vision faded as the waves from the river over powered me. If the impailment didn't kill me, the water would. I'd be drowned within moments- and the last thing would I hear before I could hear no longer would be the wicked laugh of my sister Ebony, mixed in with the pull and push of the waves.

I gasped, coming out of my glimpse at the past and looking around me, my eyes and mind both half-mad. I began screaming as soon as I regained my voice, and my mind raced. No wonder I'd always feared the waves and the water of the ocean and the rivers near my home- I'd drowned! Oh, God, why had no one told me?

Well, I reasoned, No one knew. I probably was not even supposed to know. What, was this Ebony's latest way of trying to make me tourture? Giving me glimpses of my not-so-happy past?

"Hey, crazy bitch? Are you OK now?" I blinked, shook my head to clear it, and saw Zarek watching me from a chair at the foot of the bed I now lay in. "No more psychological breakdowns?"

"No-no, I'm fine," I said heavily, trying to stand up.

"Don't try to move-you beat yourself up pretty damn bad." He stood, touched my arm lightly, and shuddered. "Pretty damn bad."

"Just my luck," I muttered.

"What?"

"Oh, I'm just referencing the fact that I'm the unluckiest person on earth," I replied in an annoyed voice. He stared at me, seemingly at a loss for words.

"Never go to Vegas," was his advice when he spoke again. I laughed.

"I wasn't planning on it," I said, nearly smiling. "What did I do to earn these injuries?"

"Let's see- you threw yourself down a hill, hit your head on a rock, called me Iccarius and screamed that I was going to burn in the hottest, most rotten pit of Hell. You're probably right, by the way- Oh, and I found brat-boy. He was hiding in the shed with the snow mobile, and now he's sleeping...again." He motioned to the small form of Nikitas, huddled in the corner on a pile of blankets. Then again, from what I knew about Zarek from other Squires, they could right well be human skins, like something out of SIlence of the Lambs. Hannibal, anyone?

"What is he sleeping on?" I croaked. Zarek looked up.

"Oh, what?" He glanced over at Nikitas. "Bear skins."

"Ew!"

"What?"

"Bear?"

"So?"

"Ever heard of PETA, buddy? They're gonna be knocking down your door and reclaiming those some time soon, I can bet you." He frowned.

"What the hell are you talking about, lady?" He said. I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"Never mind," I muttered. "Just to think, this all started when you hit me with a snowball."

He rounded on me. "Listen, lady, I don't have all night to argue with you about who started the damn War of the Snowball. I have work to do, OK?"

"Why do you always call me 'lady?" I snapped.

"What, you're a guy now?" I ignored him.

"Well, why do you have a female squire in the first pl-" I paled. "You're gay! I knew it! Man, the best ones always turn out to be gay!"

He almost blushed. "Keep your voice down, why don't you?" He hissed. "And no, I'm not gay. Being gay would mean I like guys-and there are several women who can tell you quite the opposite."

I tired my best to ignore the little hole in my chest the jeslousy made as I shook my head. "Ew. TMI, buddy."

"Why do you always call me 'buddy'?" He snapped back. I flinched, knowing that in the highly likely event that he snapped and attacked me, the pillows and blankets I lay on would be no defense. I readied my fists to punch, and my feet and legs to kick (I still knew to aim for the groin-it may not hurt him very much, but it sure as hell distracted him). I sighed nonchalantly.

"Well, I'm not going to call you 'Lady'," I replied sardonically. He glared at me.

"You know, I should throw you out right now," He muttered. I sat upright, ignoring the pain in my head and chest. And that's about the time I noticed that I was not only shirtless, but braless, as well. I blushed neon pink, covering myself with the sheet again. He noticed too, and I swear to this day that he almost blushed as he looked away, toward the window. "Your shirt ripped when you fell, and you had some bruising on your chest. I...just wanted to make sure there was nothing serious broken. I didn't look at...anything, I swear."

I nodded. "Can I have my clothing?" I looked down. "Am I still wearing pants?"

"Were you wearing pants to being with?" He replied, moving to one of the cabinets near the back of the room, near Nikitas. "If so, yes, you still have your pants."

"OK, at least I still have part of my dignity." He nodded as if in agreement, tossing me a black shirt. It was a thick winter sweater, certainly not my red and black striped Jack Skellington tee shirt, which I'd gotten from my brother when he'd last gone to Hot Topic, a store horrifyingly absent from the malls in the Greater Miami Area. Then I remembered-my shirt had ripped. With my luck, probably into a million pieces. Damned snow and damned views into my not-so-happy Greek Past Life.

"What's this?" I asked, holding the sweater at arms-length and simoltaiously keeping the sheet up over my torso.

"One of my old ones," He said, not looking at me. "It's either that, or you stay toppless." He pulled a cigarette from his back pocket, lighting it with an antique gold lighter and taking a long drag. "Frankly, you can obviously guess which one my vote is on."

"2,000 years isn't enough time for a guy to grow up, is it?" I muttered, pulling the sweater on, not oblivious to the way he stared. "You're a pervert, and you shouldn't even have a female squire. What would happen if I reported you?"

"I'd get no squire and you'd be out of the job," He remarked, puffing again. "We're a right perfect match, you and I."

"We are no such thing," I snapped. "And would you get that away from my nephiew?" I motioned to the cigarette.

"It's not like I'm dropping the thing on him!" He said, but he snuffed the cigarette out anyway. "Jesus H. Christ."

I fell silent. "Can I go back to bed, now that I'm fully dressed?" I asked. He looked over at me again, at my pitiful form, shivvering in the oversized sweater, and he nodded gruffly.

"Be up early, though," He muttered. "I need to set some ground rules."

"Sure thing, boss," I said sleepily, snuggling back down into the blankets which I sincerely hoped were not bear skins. I was sure that they were, though, and I was too tired to move and too unwilling to sleep on the ground. "Nikitas?"

"Yeah?" Said the sleepy little voice.

"Do you want to sleep up here?" His answer was jumping upright, running over on small socked fete, and jumping onto the bed beside me. He snuggled against my side, his quiet breathing on my cheek, calming me and helping me fall into a deep, thankfully dreamless sleep.


	5. Welcome To My Nightmare

_Dear readers;_

_**HELLO!! I'm Baaaaaaa-aaaaack. MuahahahahahahahahaHA. Miss me?**_

_ School distracts me from writing, which makes me sad. **Boycott** **HP, they took my computer away and gave me a faulty charger. :( Well, what's important is that the fan fiction will be finished soon! **Thank you for reading this bit of insanity, and if you like it please read **The Grimm Adventures of Sophie and Sundown**. It's kind of the same but really different. Still a Dark-Hunter book, and yes, I've come to love the **cowboy**. (Yee freakin' haw.) Much, much more violent, since Sophie was in the **Mafia**, and...oops. I wasn't supposed to say that. But **ANYWAY**, know that I'm back and the chapters will keep on coming! Especially since I'm going to visit the Dark-Hunter capital of the **WORLD** soon (No, not Greece, **NEW ORLEANS**.).  
Thank you for being devoted readers, much loves to you all, especially those who leave the greatest gift of Comments. If this chapter is dark know that things will get happier (Yes, this is still a Zarek fan fiction and not something from an odd alternate universe.)_

_ ** K.E. Thuney**, unappreciated and much mocked student, budding author. _

_SO ON WITH THE FAN FICTIONISM!!!_

* * *

I woke with a headache that I usually associated with body shots and nights of vodka drinking-it felt as though both sides of my brain were joining together to crush me slowly into insanity. Nikitas still rested in a crook in my arm, his breath soft and calm against my icy skin, and Zarek was no where to be seen.

"Hello?" I whispered, not eager to wake either immature child up. No answer, so I slowly stood and released Nikitas, his breath only pausing for a moment before returning to normal. "Zarek? Crazy? Here, boy, I don't bite." I smiled as I touched my neck gently for a moment. "But hey, I hear you do. What's that about?"  
Silence.

"Hello?"  
Silence. The sun was nearly up-where the hell was he? Maybe one night with the unluckiest girl in the continental U.S. had really driven him insane. Ha, ha, ha.

"Hey, Zarek, where's the bathroom?" I tried again. "And when am I going back to my hotel? It's cold here, and I need to charge my-" I leaned against the wall and found it to be hollow. Well, now, what did we have here? Taking my hand to the wall and rapping againnst the edges, three feet across and five feet up, I realized that it was some sort of a door. If only I could have opened it, I-

My thoughts were cut off abruptly as I found the weaket spot, pushed against it accidentally, and fell completely through, nine feet or so straight down. I let out a scream that echoed for an instant, and I sincerely hoped that it hadn't awoken Nikitas. Oh, God, it was dark and cold and the perfect place to store dead bodies. Good lord, the longer I stayed with him, the more morbid I became. I'd be wearing all black and cursing people, stealing his claws and dying my hair black before I knew it.

"Zaaa-arek," I said, drawing his name out and listening to it echo in the large room. "How do I get out of here?"  
Silence.

"ZAREK!" I screamed. "GET ME OUT OF HERE!" I was sure I heard the front door open. I stayed silent, and then, sure enough, I heard footsteps.

"Hey, Squire, that's my personal place!" Zarek snarled down the black hole.  
"Well, I'm fucking sorry I stumbled upon heaven!" I shouted back up. "But I don't exactly want to stay here any longer. Do you have like a ladder or something?"  
"Why should I let you up?" I bit down on my bottom lip, regretting my next words already.

"Because Nikitas is an Appolite, and he's been asleep for a while without eating anything, and your blood is like cyanide to the little guy!" I shouted. "He needs me. His auntie-Goddess lady."  
The silence from above was almost palpable. And just as I was beginning to lose heart and begin my tirade, he shouted, "Move!"  
"What?" I yelled.

"Just move, Squire, unless you have the desire to be crushed by a Dark-Hunter!"  
I side stepped just in time, because a second later Zarek joined me in the black-tinted hell.  
"I don't think it's that hellish down here," He said, and I could imagine the smirk on his face. "At least, for the most part, it's quiet."

"Stop reading my mind!" I shouted.

"Make me," He said with the comeback skills of a kindergartner. "Goddess-Lady." He laughed as he mocked me newly adopted nephew, taking off down the darkened corridor, his laugh, so bitter and cruel, ringing down the way.

"Damn it, you immature little prick!" I shouted. "Come back here! Nikitas needs me!"  
"Make me come back!" He shouted. "You invaded my privacy. This is my place."  
"This where you take all your girlfriends?" I said, turning around and spinning slowly in the pitch black room. "Describes your personality well."

"Shut up, why don't you?" He said, now inches from my face. I fell silent. "Scared yet?"  
"I've seen worse," I said through grit teeth.

"Yeah?" His voice was a whisper now, and he sounded almost out of breath. "Like what?"  
"I saw both my parent die. And my little sister. And everyone else I know who I loved. Besides my brothers, that is. And I also may have been killed 2,000 years ago, so asshole, you don't fricking scare me." I pushed him away and he hissed.  
"Don't fucking touch me," He snarled. He grabbed onto the roots of my hair.  
"Ow! Let me go!" I shouted, turning and trying to kick him, but it was no use. He had a foot and a half and two thousand years worth of fighting on me, and I had no desire to have my ass handed to me on a plate if I lost this battle. Or, worse, my head. He began to walk, and since I had no sense of direction at the moment, I simply followed, trying my best to keep him from ripping the hair from my scalp and hoping that we were not going deeper into the labyrinth.

"Where are we going, exactly?" I asked. He was glaring at me, I was sure of it.

"Shut up, would you?" He growled. Finally, he stopped. I could see natural light coming from above us. He surprised me by picking me up and nearly tossing me, face first, back up onto the first floor. I landed with a pained 'oof!' on the floor, my chin scraping against the hard surface. "There. Go feed your kid."  
I blushed, sitting up on my shaking legs and correcting him as I went to wake up NIkitas. "He's my nephew."  
"Sorry for the mistake, it won't happen again," He said sarcastically.

"Better not," I said, turning away from the entrance to the black hole. I heard the wall slam back into place behind me and realized that Zarek's Dark-Hunter power was Telekinesis. Oh, great, give the psychopath the power to move around heavy objects with his mind, Acheron. Good job.

Nikitas sat up straight, and I took a seat besides the blond boy. "I don't like that guy, auntie," He told me. I sighed.

"That makes two of us, Nikitas," I said wearily, sighing and offering the little vampire-esque child my wrist. He looked down at it through dark lashes, sighed, and pushed it away. I persisted.

"We want you to get big and strong, right, Nikitas?" I told him soothingly. He paused.

"Um...yes," He responded.

"Well, you have to have a balanced diet to get strong and healthy, Nik. Come on, drink, I don't mind," I waved my wrist under his nose and he finally gave in, pressing his mouth to my arm and pricking my skin with little fangs. He closed his eyes, biting down hard, his tounge lapping up the dark blood, and his eyes opened again, looking ashamed under black coal smudges of lashes.

"It's okay," I said calmly, feeling weary. "You're not doing anything bad." A light lie, small and unnoticeable. He finally removed himself from my arm, wiping a small hand across his lips. He offered the hand to me, and I shook my head, to his confusion.

"Why no drink?" He said in confusion. "Is no bad. Is no."  
"No, no drink," I repeated with a smile. "I'm not special like you."  
"Special?" He asked. "Why special? Momma was the same. It's yummy." He licked his lips and looked up at me with black, sad eyes. "Drink?" He held out the small hand to me, the fingers pink with blood. I leaned forward, flicked out my tongue quickly, and the metallic tang of the blood shot through my system like a atom bomb. I sat straight up, my eyes went blank, and I fell backwards onto the bed.

The very next thing I remembered was being slapped awake, unable to fight back with my arms or my legs. My head felt as though it had been split it two, and I cried out in pain. A sardonic laugh followed, and another slap across the side of my face.

"There. You're awake." I felt a weight against the middle of my body, and I awoke to find a young handsome man looking down at me, straddling my hips. He was maybe twenty, with long, waving black hair that touched his shoulders, and bronzed skin with rippling muscles. All in all, he looked like a canidate for a romance novel cover, but what I noticed most was the hardest part of his body, pressed against my thigh, and I froze with fear as I stared at him. I recognized him, I knew I did. It was Iccarius.

That must have meant that I was Ivory again-the other Ivory, the goddess of pain Ivory. And the wounds, still visible but healing on my chest confirmed my fears. I shrieked, writhing and attempting to get away, but Iccarius held me fast, his grip that of a powerful man.

"Let me go!" I screamed, optioning for the Greek he could understand. He laughed in a cruel, bitter way.

"Why did you not respond to me this way while we were married, dear Ivory?" He panted in my ear in the same tounge. "Gods, that was better than I could have thought."  
"I was unconscious, you bastard!" I screamed.

"But it was so much better that way," He growled. "So much better. I did not know it was possible for a woman to orgasm in her sl-"  
"Shut the fuck up!" I screamed. "You liar!"  
"Oh, you could ask Artemis," He murmured against my breast. "Or Ebony. They brought you here."  
"Where is here?" I snarled.

"You are back in the place from whence you were banished," He said with a laugh. I felt my eyes widen. "Do you remember now, my dear?"

"Why did you..." I looked down at the place where our bodies met. "Get off of me!"  
"Why should I?" Iccarius said with a laugh, pressing harder against me. I cried out, mostly in pain.

"W-why are you doing this to me?" I cried. "What exactly _did _you do to me?"  
"What husbands are supposed to do with their women," He growled. "Nothing less than what I deserve for the pain you put me through."  
"My Iccarius, come to me," Said a voice longingly from the doorway of the temple. He moved himself from my body, glared down at me, and then wrapped a white silken robe around his nakedness as he joined Ebony in the doorway of the palace we'd once shared. He nuzzled her neck with his lips and she moaned, removing his robe and holding him close. "Who do you love?" She demanded. "Say it!"  
"You, only you, my goddess," He said with a smile that once would have melted my heart but no longer affected me. "I will always love only you."

I had to close my eyes and listen in silence and in pain as Iccarius panted and Ebony screamed, and I heard Ebony feverishly moan Iccarius's name five or six times in a row. Finally, they finished, moments later, and I had my eyes pried open by Ebony, who grinned over me like the Grim Reaper.

"Morning, sunshine," She said with a giggle. "Did you sleep well?"  
"You bitch!" I snarled.

"You're worse," She said, leaning in close to whisper in my ear. "Did you know that this whole time, the whole damn time you've known Iccarius, and the whole time you've born him his children, waited for him by the windows, and hoping that he had not found another woman, he was laying just where you are now, fucking me?" She laughed loudly.

"You evil bitch!" I yelled. She laughed again, clawing at my face and my chest.  
"Did it hurt when he slammed you onto that spike, O Goddess?" She said, hissing the words an inch from my face. "And I only brought you back to show you how much he loves me and how much he's always hated you."

"EBONY!" A voice ripped through the air of the temple, a voice angry and loud. A young woman in a white and gold tunic, golden bangles, and long, flowing blond hair pulled back from her heavenly, heart shaped face with a golden headband, white gold sandals on her feet. She was a light shade of pink because of her rage, and her arms were crossed, her hips to the side, and she was tapping one foot against the marble floor of the Parthenon.

"Wh-well, I-oh, Aphrodite!" Stammered Ebony. The goddess continued to glare. "What is it that I did that angers you so?"  
"Many things," Said Aphrodite. She walked over to the smaller, dark-haired Goddess, took her wrist, and led her over to where I lay. "Untie her."  
"But-Goddess, she must be punished!" Cried Ebony. Aphrodite's eyes glowed red.

"You're joking, right?" Aphrodite laughed. "You dare to go against the wishes of a Goddess?" her voice had raised to an angry snarl.  
"I am sorry, Goddess," She said meekly, closing her eyes. "Iccarius, free her."  
He came over and roughly untied the silk sashes from my arms and legs, and he helped me to my feet. I shivered, and Aphrodite handed me the silken robe that Iccarius had doffed, and I pulled it on, the Goddess touched my arm kindly. "Are you fine, child?"  
"I was raped while I slept, and then I watched my rapist fuck my sister," I said quietly. "I am the farthest thing on the parthenon from fine." Aphrodite smiled.

"Your wounds shall heal," She said quietly, "Both physical, and emotional. Now, come, I will escort you to Hades."  
"Why are you helping me?" I whispered as she took my arm and led me from my husband and sister. She gave a very un-goddess like shrug.

"Because I understand your predicament," She told me truthfully.

"You had a cheating spouse?" I asked.

"No," She admitted sheepishly. "I was a cheating spouse."  
"Oh." We finally came to stand before a black door, behind which a young woman was screaming. I froze. "What's going on?"  
"Oh, one of the lovers of a god is having a child," She said nonchalantly. I pressed myself against the door and opened it. I saw a woman, her blond hair sticking to her forehead with sweat and her eyes glowing with happiness. She held a baby in her arms, a bloody baby who sobbed uncontrollably in her mother's grasp. I crossed the room quickly, still wearing only Iccarius's robe.

"May I hold the child?" I asked in greek. She hesitated for only a moment before nodding, handing me the crying little girl.

The minute I took her into my arms, my eyes were forced open and I saw dozens of women, all with shifting features and terrible deaths. I gasped, releasing the child, and she tumbled into her mother's outstretched hands.

"_Lilith!" _She cried out. "What did you do to my child?"  
"Who is the father?" I asked quickly. She glanced around, looking ashamed until she finally met my gaze and muttered,

"An Atlantian god. I cannot speak his name aloud."  
"Archon," I said. She lowered her gaze to her child and nodded. "This child will know much hardship. I, being goddess of pain, will be forced to hound her every step." The mother's eyes became horrified and she clutched the baby to her heaving chest.

"Why?" She shrieked. "Why must my innocent baby be damned to this?"  
I looked behind her and saw the three fates, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, standing, menace in their gazes as they pointed to the baby, the little blue eyed baby who did not know that she was meant to destroy the family she hoped to build.

"I-it's fate," I said quietly, and then I turned to Aphrodite, who stared in awe and fear at the fates. "I-I must go, but know that your child will have my protection."  
"The protection of pain," She spat, "Means nothing to me. Leave me with my child, I shall kill it." She looked down at the baby as though her own flesh and blood was nothing.  
"If you kill that child," I said, lowering my gaze to stare at her, "This Parthenon will fall into ruins. If you enjoy your life here, that baby shall live. Let us leave now, Aphrodite," I said, walking toward the exit. Aphrodite stopped me with a single hand.

"Wait a moment." I nodded, surprised, and I became even more surprised as she walked over to the side of the bed with light steps and took the child into her arms. Rocking her around in a circle slowly, she kissed the babe on the forehead. Both baby and goddess laughed, and eventually, the infant was returned to her awe-struck mother. "We can leave now, and know, woman, that if that baby dies as will you, though if you die she could live on. When she dies, so does beauty."  
The woman was still staring at us when the fates came to her side, and Atropos said sweetly, "We shall take and care for your child, dear woman. She will have the protection of Fate."  
I could tell, though my back was to them, that she was lying.

I woke up, flat on my back and panting, my sweat coating my brow and my hands raised to my chest. Nikitas lounged on a chair next to a small fireplace, half-asleep with his eyes partially closed, and he perked up when he saw me awake.

"You were screaming and you used bad words," He chastised me, lookig serious. I clutched him tightly, not wanting to let go of the only thing tying me to the present as the shock of what I'd gone through registered. Ivory was real-and so was all that she'd been through.

Which either meant I was crazy or someone had a hell of a lot of explaining to do.


	6. Here COmes the Zombies

_Revenge- Let it get nice and cold before you throw it in their fucking faces, beating them to death with the silver platter. _

It was cold, bitterly so. I thought that Zarek might have thrown me out into the snow, and given his psychological unbalance it was honestly a possibility. I looked up, however, to find myself in the darkness of the cabin, as the fire had gone out. I felt a warm body against mine and looked down to see Nikitas huddled against me, shivering and tiny, his little fists clenched and his mouth a set straight line.

I stood and looked around the small cabin- we were alone, and it was pitch black outside, which would have meant that Zarek was prowling the frozen hell for the Daimons who never really seemed to come up here, except the brave few who felt the need to challenge him.

"Hello?" I called softly, looking for any sign of life. There was a flash of bright light, and I squelched up my face, trying to see in the blinding glow. I saw the figure of a woman behind the electric yellow light and I covered my eyes with my hands, closing them. The light dimmed and I looked up to find myself in the presence of the goddess Aphrodite. I nodded to her as she looked around the tiny, dirt-floored cabin.  
"Eugh!" She screeched, pulling a face of disgust that was very un-Goddess-y. She shot me a look that said that I probably blended in with the setting. "I thought you were staying in a hotel!" She whined, stomping a foot on the ground. She looked out of place with her ocean blue Greek gown and golden sandals, her long blond hair flowing down her back like a waterfall, her features and make up perfect.

"I thought gods didn't like Hunters or their servants," I said, ignoring her semi-question semi-complaint.

"Well, you're different," She said, pulling a pout, and I snorted.

"You've got that right," I muttered, rolling over in the tiny bed to see Nikitas on the other side, snuggled against the blankets and sound asleep. I was silent for a minute and I turned back to see if she had gone away. I was dismayed to find that she hadn't, and she was surveying the intricately carved bookshelves with miniscule interest. She turned back to me, and I felt that I should shrink back in her presence. As it was, I was too exhausted to do so, so I met her gaze head on.

"Have you been sleeping alot, lately?" She said in a manner that so obviously said that she was trying to hard to be nonchalant. I was suspicious immediately.

"Um, sort of. Why the sudden interest in my sleep patterns?" I said slowly, as to not seem as suspicious of her intentions as I actually was. She shrugged, and then with some hesitation she came to sit at the edge of the bed, brushing her hands over my arm like my mother used to. I closed my eyes and felt the sleep I had been fighting urging me to give up and fall into my dreams.

"Well, those nasty visions you've been having drain you pretty quickly. Any mortal who finds that they have a family member on Olympus usually end up having them. But you, you have a twin. Every vision is amplified, especially after the pasts that you and Ebony have had. The visions you have are a little more taxing. They're draining your soul and pretty much turning you into something out of an icky zombie movie."  
"So I'm turning into a Dawn of the Dead zombie?" She shrugged and nodded. "What can I do to stop it?"  
"Nothing. You're always going to have the visions until you find out what kind of a connection Ebony is trying to create with you here in the mortal world. Or until you die, whichever might come first. Until you go, you're going to go on having them, sleep for days after you have them, and wake up a little deader."  
"Is that even a word?" I snapped, hiding the fear that shook my soul-what remained of it. She shrugged again, brushing a hand through her long blond hair.

"I don't know," She said airily, "But that's what's happening." She crossed the room and turned back to glance at me, hands on her hips. "If I were you, I'd go out with a bang. I'd do something crazy and make people remember me. But I remind you, that's just me." She winked to me and threw me a kiss. "Bye, baby cuz. Call if you need anything." And just like that, she disappeared, leaving the faint perfume of orchids and pomegranates in the cold winter air around me. I took in her words, wide eyed and silent, and then just like that, it really hit me.

I was dying.

As I lay in the bed, I remembered what had befallen my father only months before his death. He had become gaunt, his eyes sunk in and his hair falling out. He'd never been a body builder, but even the simplest of tasks gave him trouble. He'd been fading before our eyes.

And now it was happening to me. I sickened me to even think it, but it was true. I would be a skeleton in a matter of weeks, if the visions didn't stop. They were going to drain me dryer than a Daimon's last meal, and I honestly didn't see a way to stop them. It's not like I was shouting, "Hey, Ebb! Can you show me a little more warped shit and teach me more about myself than I've ever wanted to know in, like, my entire life?"

She'd probably comply gleefully, but hey, that was her deal. I didn't want her killing me and she probably knew what she was doing. Damn her to hell for all of it, for ruining my perfectly 'normal' (loosely phrasing this, please forgive me) life.

The only thing that I couldn't understand was _why. _ Why right now? Why not when I was younger, less likely to fight her for control of my life, less likely to know what the hell was going on? Why had Ebony waited such a long time to kill me?  
_Because even sheep are given time before they are sent to the slaughter. There are things about this world you will never understand, imora, and running from your problems does not mean that you shall ne'er have to confront them. _

I stopped dead in my tracks and looked around, my eyes wide. "Hello?" I asked timidly, looking for the source of the voice, even glancing to Nikitas for reassurance that he had not been the source of the noise. He slept soundly, rolling in his sleep and talking, but it was mostly the broken speak of a small child, most of it pertaining to his dreams. Mumbling something about avocados, he seemed so unaware of the voices in my head. Lucky him.

"Hello?" I tried again.

_Hello. I miss you, Akra._

"Wait, wait, wai-Akra? I'm not Atlantean. I'm-"  
_Of the Atlantean Parthenon, not the Greek. Ebony is. You, Apollymi, Apostolos-You are the remaining Atlantean gods. All pertaining to destruction, death, and Genocide, might I add.  
_"Oh. What a- um...a happy thought. So, who are you, all-knowing-voice-inside-my-head? Because no offence, but I don't know who the hell you are."  
_Don't you dare speak that way to your mother._

"Whoa, back that last statement up- my _mother? _You died like, a year ago. Why are you talking to me? And how do you know all of this?"

Forgive me for being a skeptic, but I wasn't really raised to find the best in people. I was raised to find the lies they tell. A drug dog, if you will. Metaphorically, of course (No offence to Vane and Fang, who were honestly semi-friends of mine).

_That woman-the human. She was not your real mother. She was a human and you are not.  
_"She looked like me." It was true-I had my mother's dark wavy hair and her blue-grey eyes, but none of her grace and ability to calm absolutely everyone in any room she walked into. I inherited quite the opposite, in fact. I had once tripped over a sheet of paper. No joke.

_You think that you are the only one in history to have a twin you could never get along with? Imora, my sister and I never had a hope of 'getting along', as you say today. We fought like monsters, and-oh, another story for another day. But you are my daughter. She stole you from me and threw you to earth, Akra. She followed you and swallowed your soul, draining your god-powers and entrapping you in her womb. She gave birth to you, married the man you believed to be your father, and his sons became your siblings. She bore him more children, but I had my revenge. On them both._

"Gross," I whispered. "But-I always believed that I was a Greek diety...for as longs as I've known that I'm a 'goddess', I mean. So...How can Ebony and I be twins if we lived in Greece and I was Atlantean?"  
_You were both stolen from me before. Ebony embraced her power, but you always knew something was wrong. You are like me, Imora. You could tell, and-well, you fought with her. You were thrown to earth, where you died. I claimed you back for a while, my darling baby, and when you were about to be reborn and save our Parthenon, my wicked sister stole you away and ate your soul.  
_"What is your name?"  
_Aria._

"And what is my name?"  
_Your real name is Ivorisulia Ryssali. Ebony's name was Ebonaillia Konous. I did not want to give up either of you. I wanted you to save our Parthenon, but to do this you must return to the land of your birth._

I paused, hating my next question. I was still pretty suspicious of mommy dearest. "Which would be Atlantis, right?"  
_You are correct.  
_"Newsflash-the place sunk 11,000 years ago."  
_Did the area where it once stood disappear as well?  
_Oh. She had a point. As much as I hated to admit it. "Well...I have a life here. I can't really go around resurrecting pantheons. I think that would piss of the wrong kinds of people."  
_Apostolos._

"Well...yeah, Ash, but I'm thinking more along the lines of Stryker. And the other Daimons. And the Spathi Daimons. And the Appolites. And the other Dark-Hunters. I mean, the place sunk for a reason, right?"  
_Because of the self centered goddess of the hunt and her twin.  
_"Come again?"  
_Nothing, my dearest heart. But please, daughter-the hopes of the remaining goddesses and gods of the Parthenon rely on you. Would you really damn us for the actions of another? I thought I raised you well enough to know the difference between right and wrong._

"You didn't raise me," I said through grit teeth, speaking the truth to whomever the fuck this was.

_True. This is true. You were raised by Helen...But still. You are my baby. And please, if I ask for nothing more in my lifetime from you, I ask you this. Save me from my eternal hell. _

She fell silent and I was almost certain that the voices in my head had left the vicinity. I took a deep breath, took out my phone, and saw a message from an unknown number. It was as follows:

From: (453)-864-6627

Message:  
Appolite boy, huh? Damn, no wonder Ash is

P.O.'d. But hey, I can help. Just meet me my

house 3. OK? Promise not to kill him. Just

need to see why exactly Ash is on the rampage.

Hell, maybe I can help you keep the kid in line so

the lightning doesn't fly. Lock your doors and

get ready for the Apocalypse, kid.

(Directions below)

SPAWN

Below was a link to MapQuest, where I found a detailed map to the middle of no where. Awesome directions, M. All-knowing, Oh-I'm-So-Cool-'Cus-I'm-an-Immortal-Warrior.

Oh yeah. I was fucking losing it.

Luckily, and this is hopefully the only time in my entire life in which I will ever use this sentence, Zarek returned within the hour. He knew exactly where Spawn lived, and so I would not be trekking out into the wilderness blindly. Unfortunately, he insisted on accompanying me.

"My last squire got killed, and they thought I ate him. I'm taking no chances with this one," He grumbled, glowering at me and tossing me a helmet, acting as though it was my fault Spawn had summoned me. I rolled my eyes and fixed the zippers of Nikitas' jacket, leaning down to speak with him seriously.

"Now, Nik, we're going to see a friend of ours. You are going to be very nice to him, because he is going to help decide if you get to stay with me." I made sure to make eye contact with him so my words would stick in his mind.  
"If I stay with you or if they kill me, right?" He inquired, nodding. I stared at the little blond boy, my eyes wide and frightened.

"N-no," I said slowly. He glared at me, narrowing his little eyes. "What would make you think that, sweetheart?"  
"You're lying," He said, eyes still trained on me. I shook my head again, and he pushed me away. He was so forceful that I actually fell backwards, my back hitting a buffer of snow. "LIAR!" He screamed.

Zarek looked back at us. "Hey!" He shouted, as Nikitas started at me again, tiny fists raised. I was still sort of shocked and didn't really know what to say to him or how to defend myself. Zarek held him back, seemingly using a lot of strength for subduing a five year old, who was still thrashing and actually screaming curses at me. Zarek grabbed a hold of something on his shoulder and he fell unconscious like a mechanical toy with no batteries. He fell to the icy ground and lay there like a corpse.

"Well," Zarek finally said, after a moment of silence. "That certainly was not within the norm."  
"Is he dead?" I cried, checking for a pulse on the small boy's neck. It was there, but very faint. "What the hell was that?" I wondered aloud, and Zarek shrugged.

"I assumed most people did that after spending too much time around you. Either that or they would spontaneously combust." He grinned and I flipped him off.

"Fuck you," I muttered, picking up the tiny Appolite boy. "C'mon. We better see how Spawn reacts to the latest little...incident."

"So, what you mean to tell me is that five minutes before you left the psycho's, little Mr. Towhead here went ballistic and tried to attack you, calling you a liar, and then Zarek knocked him out, which is why you darken my doorstep holding an unconscious little boy who is covered in snow?" Spawn laughed, crossing his arms and smirking at me. He was a tall blond man, an inch or two taller than Zarek, over a head taller than me. He was handsome, disturbingly so, but I was used to the drop dead gorgeous hotties in my line of work, so I sort of shrugged it off. Blondes weren't my thing, anyway. "You're more of a head case than I thought."

"Can you help us or not?" I snapped angrily, peeling off my jacket and putting it around Nikitas' shoulders, since he was shivering and his lips were quickly turning blue.

"Us?" He smirked, leaning against the door. "What, are you categorizing yourself _with_ the Zarek-in-training?"  
I glowered at him, giving the man the best you-are-the-gum-on-the-bottom-of-my-shoe look that I could manage. He laughed, shrugging it off.

"Well, yeah, I've kind of taken over as his guardian since his mom is dead. I mean, he has no one else and it's not like I'm just going to leave him to die out here all alone." Something I said must have his home, because his ebony eyes flashed with a sort of recognition and then he nodded slowly.

"Okay, I'll help you, but only because you look like you're going to start crying and I really hate waterworks. Now, get inside. I'm giving you permission to enter," He said, mainly speaking to Nikitas, and it took me a minute to remember why. I helped Zarek carry the little boy inside, and then I turned to him.

"Thanks," I said begrudgingly, "But you should leave."  
"Why," He said with a sardonic smirk. "My perky attitude too much for you?"

"You need your strength," I said smoothly, "And I know the way back to the hotel. I'll go straight there with Nik afterwards." Zarek glowered at me, and I could tell he didn't like being ordered around, and I honestly didn't really care. I glared right back, hanging Nikitas to Spawn so I could stand in his way, hands on my hips. He rolled his eyes, sneering down at me.  
"You are such a _girl,_" He said, apparently trying to insult me, and I snorted.

"Either that or I've been bleeding from the wrong place for many, many years," I snapped back. He pretended to be shocked, plugging his ears and sticking his tongue out at me like a five year old. "Now don't be such a dick. Leave." I pointed to the door and he flipped me off, heading for the exit. When he slammed the door behind himself, the hallway grew quiet.

"What a well mannered, kind young man," Spawn muttered. "You are _so _lucky to have him."  
I snorted and shook my head. "In his dreams," I laughed quietly. Then I smiled. "So, should we being with the questioning?"

"How exactly did you come into possession of this...kid?" Spawn asked, offering me a seat on one of the couches in his living room, which was bigger than Zarek's entire home. I balanced a cup of tea on my knee and then lifted it to take a sip, his eyes still on me.  
"Well," I said after my drink, "It was a few days ago. I discovered him near Zarek's home, in the woods. His mother was...dead and he didn't really seem to notice that. I took him with me to the hotel so he didn't die of hypothermia or something, and so I'm his 'aunt', I suppose. I don't know how long he can stay with me, but..." I trailed off, brushing Nikitas' blond hair back from his forehead, trailing my hand lightly across his cheek. "I'm an orphan," I confided in him with no amount of pain absent from my voice, "My dad died before I became a squire. I don't want to see him go without someone there for him..."  
"He'll die anyway, even without a parent there to help him," Spawn reminded me, being painfully honest. I closed my eyes and nodded. "His mother-she was still there?"  
I opened my eyes again, and the strangeness of this hit me. "Why-yes, she was, but...How could that be, if she was-wait, what?"  
"That's what I thought," He muttered, and then he took a book down from the built in tall bookshelf on the wall. "The woman-was this her?" He held out a snapshot of a laughing young woman holding a small baby, a baby I recognized as Nikitas. She had her hair pulled back into a bun and held the baby like he meant the world to her, which he probably did. She wore a blue shirt with a pair of dark blue jeans and the little baby was pulling on her hair. I recognized her eyes and the silvery white sheen of her blond hair.

"Yes," I confirmed with a nod. "But why do you have her-"  
"I found this in a home that had been cleaned out by Daimons," He continued. "All the inhabitants had been killed. Including her. They found her body in the kitchen, along with those of two smaller children. It was the day after Christmas, forty miles east of Fairbanks. The bodies were all taken to the morgue- including those of Georgia West, 25, and her four year old son Alexander West." He looked down to Nikitas. "Those bodies, along with four others, disappeared from the morgue that night. They assumed body snatchers and it became a cold case. Everyone just thought the Daimons didn't want to leave behind evidence, and we pretty much dropped it to. But someone mentioned seeing Georgia in town, and we decided to check it out. You found her body a few miles outside of town, less than a day later. The Daimons are still covering their tracks.

"And it looks like we've found Alex."

"That can't be right," I said nervously. "He told me his mother was a Daimon. He drank blood, like he'd been doing it his whole life. It's almost impossible for him _not _to be an Appolite."  
"Have you considered the fact that he might have been hypnotized into thinking he was an Appolite?"He inquired, looking down to the kid. I paused and shook my head.

"I kind of trusted him, up until now; I didn't really doubt the fact that he was one." I admitted. "I would have never thought that he was a part of the body snatching project."  
"The what?" He inquired with a small smile.

"Oh, I thought that if this was going to become some internationally known, 24/7 news broadcasted scandal, it deserved a fitting name." I smirked. "It fits, no?"  
"It does," He agreed. "But the circumstances…they just don't make sense. What long-term use could Daimons use a human family for? They're useless once their souls are gone. I mean, it might be one Daimon, using a family member at a time to replenish his body, but a mother, a child, and her house guests? The attacks didn't seem random. They were carefully planned and executed. There has to be a reason that _these _humans were taken in particular."

"Or maybe not," I offered. "Maybe they were just really hungry Daimons and that was the only house for miles around. Maybe they took other humans who we didn't know about."

"But why return to the morgue for these ones?" He questioned aloud, and then he ran his hands through his own blond hair, sighing in irritation.  
"I can smell your hair burning, maybe you should calm down and try and think this through with someone other than the voices in your head," I told him smoothly, and then to illustrate my own suave nature I accidentally tipped the tea cup over my knee onto the carpet. I cursed, loudly, and Spawn jumped, looking down to the spill.

"It's okay; I'll just get a paper towel for it. Be right back." When he left, the door that had been blocked by his form was visible to me, and I looked through the small window over the handle out into the wintery evening. I saw a pale head stalk past the door, and then return, catching my gaze and then looking down to the little boy on my lap, rage filling its contorted and disgusting features which at one time might have been pretty.

Pale hair, now dirty and slick with blood. A pair of round, bloodshot and hungry eyes with no pupils, simply tiny black irises staring, ringed with dark grey bags. A mouth contorted and screaming, and bloodied and mottled cheeks which were dirty and cut. A ratty old tee shirt, torn at the neck and too spotted with her blood.

Georgia West.

"SPAWN!" I screamed. "We have company! KITCHEN WINDOW!"  
I heard a loud crash and Spawn's curse, and I knew that I had been right. She had taken something to the window to smash it and was trying to break her way in. I rushed to the kitchen, leaving Nikitas on the couch by himself. Spawn looked shocked and had pulled a hand gun from the drawer under his cutlery display, aiming it at her.

"It won't do any good, she's already dead!" I cried, but he riddled her with bullets, anyway.  
"Really?" He snapped, reloading and continuing to fire, "Well, it's making me feel much, much better!" He shouted. I shrugged, picking up one of the kitchen knives. I held it up for my own protection in case she squeezed herself through the window after all. She seemed to be having difficulties, snarling and struggling and all the time cursing us. Spawn stopped shooting after a minute or so, and then she spoke _real _words, much to our shock.

"MY…BABY…" She shrieked, and her voice breathy and deep, halting and slow. "YOU STOLE MY BABY!"  
"No…Me? I didn't…you were dead!" I shouted. "Your neck was broken!"  
"NOT…DEAD…" She spoke like a zombie from a low budget movie. "Out of commission. Sent someone else. Left baby and Georgia…In woods. Re commissioned and found baby gone, knew who took him…"I turned to Spawn, who looked almost sick as he watched her. Yeah. She looked pretty gross.

"What do you mean-who commissioned you?"I asked, and then the sound of breaking glass from the other side of the house grabbed my attention. She looked toward the living room and then wormed her way out of the window, out into the snow. She ran off, and then I breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that's taken care of, but I wonder what broke in the living…"I felt my eyes go huge, and Spawn watched me, a slightly confused expression on his face.

I ran into the living room, and found my worst fears had been confirmed. There was snow on the couch, and on the rug. The window had been shattered into a million pieces.

And Alexander 'Nikitas' West was nowhere to be found.

"We'll find him," Spawn promised me, sitting down across from me at the small kitchen table. I was still in shock, shaking my head and fighting back tears, and the new cup shook in my hands in a very violent manner.

"It's my fault!" I cried, "I should have been there to help him, to keep him safe. I should have taken him with me into the kitchen. I should have never left him alone," I finished with a groan, resting my head on the table. Spawn sighed, not really knowing what to say.

"We are going to get him back," Spawn promised again through grit teeth. I looked up at him and saw the determined expression on his face. I nodded, shrugging my shoulders.  
"I mean, I saw her moving quickly, but how could she have gotten all the way around the house in that short of a time?" I gasped. "Nikitas couldn't have run away, could he?"

"Of course not. He's too young. Who'd run away from someone like you, anyway? You seem harmless enough."He smiled, showing off sharp teeth. I rolled my eyes, smiling too despite the circumstances.

"I don't know if I should be insulted or complimented, but under these terms I think I'll be going with complimented," I laughed. He laughed, too, and I took another sip of my drink. It went down with some difficulty, and I closed my eyes, feeling the tears well in my eyes, and I shook my head, setting the cup down.

"I can't believe this happened," I whispered, my throat thick. I stood and crossed to the window, looking out at the snow which looked too bright against the black sky. White, like the pallor of Georgia's skin, like her thin, blood matted hair. I started sobbing all over again at the thought of Nikitas ending up like that, like some bloodthirsty, angry monster.

"Hey, he's not going to end up like that. We're going to get him back before anything like that will happen." I turned to see Spawn standing up, a look of determination on his pale face. I nodded, and then for some strange, strange reason, crossed the room and threw my arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. I have no fucking clue what possessed me to do that, at least I didn't until a second later, when mama's voice rang in my mind;

_ Gather your allies, my child- they have an army…_

"God damn," I muttered under my breath. Spawn had frozen with his arms half around me, and then he looked down at me with a strange, unfathomable look on his face.

"What?"He said.

"Nothing, I-"

"Am I interrupting something?" A sharp, irritated voice inquired, and I turned to see Zarek standing in the doorway of the kitchen. It was my turn to freeze, and Spawn pulled away from me, clearing his throat. I've noticed over the years that most men do this during awkward situations, even Acheron.

"No, I-"I began, but Zarek raising a finger to me as a warning, crossing his arms and then nodding to Spawn.

"Nothing. She's had an emotional day. And no," He said, answering a question that Zarek apparently wouldn't state aloud.

"Where's the kid?"Zarek asked me, turning in my direction once more. I hung my head, too sad to speak. Zarek motioned to the living room. "He didn't-"

"No. His mother did."  
He rounded on me. "You told me she was dead!" He shouted.  
"She was!" I screamed back. "And now she's back!"  
"Well, congrat-u-fucking-lations!" He snapped. "_That's _not my problem."

"Well it's mine, and if I die, the squire council is going to have your head for a hood ornament!" I shouted, throwing my hands in the air. He approached me, probably with half a mind to kill me, which was why Spawn intervened, stepping between us and crossing his arms.

"Okay, children, break it up," He told us, placing one hand on my shoulder leaving the other hovering over Zarek's shoulder. Zarek gave him a look that stated that he should drop dead and Spawn merely laughed, telling him, "You're not brave enough."  
"Want to bet, asshole?" He snapped to his fellow Hunter, cracking his knuckles and glaring at him. It was my turn to push between the two of them.

"Cut it out, you two!" I cried. "Nikitas is gone, and we have to find him before you settle whatever fucking score you have to settle with each other, okay?"I took a deep breath, and shuddered. "I don't want him to be with those Daimons any longer than he has to, those stupid blond Dracula want to bees, those sons of bitches…no offence, Spawn."

"None taken," He said with a slight smile, brushing his own platinum blond hair from his forehead. "And like I said, we're gonna get that kid back."  
"Yep," I said, brushing my eyes to free them of tears. "I'd better go," I told him, and then I added. "Thank you. For helping, I mean. I appreciate it."  
"Of course," He said with another small smile. "Come back to visit any time. That invitation is exclusive, of course," He said, eyeing Zarek with what looked like a bit of contempt. I glowered at him, raising an eyebrow. "Well, if you ever need anyone to…talk to, I'm here, I suppose." He added with a shrug. Zarek sneered at him.

"I don't need your fucking attention," He laughed. "Save it for your boyfriend." He led me to the door, and on the way, I yelled at him,

"Jeez! Would it kill you to be nice to someone for once? I mean, he was trying to be nice! At least act like you were, at some time in history, a human being!"

He slammed the door so loudly and with such anger I thought it was going to shatter. "Look at you! You're acting like a slut, panting over Fabio in there! You're the one being too nice to him, practically a written invitation to get into your-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I screamed at him, clenching my hands into fists. "I FUCKING HATE YOU; YOU ARE SUCH A FUCKING ASSHOLE!"  
He stopped short of his tirade, and then turned to me, his eyes on fire with rage and barely controlled murderous urges. He turned away, cursing under his breath and taking deep breaths. "What?" I growled. He turned his head to look at me.  
"I've never intentionally killed a woman, so I'm actually trying to stop short of-"He stopped talking when I flipped him the bird and stormed towards my snow mobile. "Well, that was certainly uncalled for. Why'd you-"

"Fuck you and leave me alone," I said with a shaking laugh, pulling on my gloves and turning the key, climbing onto the machine. I didn't hear his response over the roar of the engine as I pulled away from the house, leaving him with his shocked expression and his mouth hanging open.

I have to tell you, having the last word felt really, really good.


	7. And You Wonder WHY I Hate Hospitals

7 The hotel, 10:42 PM. Me, slumped on the bed like a worthless old mop, my head buried under a pillow in a sore attempt to keep my sobs from awakening the other inhabitants of the hotel. The bed next to mine, empty and clean, a bed which once held the little boy I was supposed to take care of. I kept my eyes closed, my fists clenched to keep myself from doing too much physical damage to myself.

"Oh, Iv, what has happened to you to make you cry so much?"

I looked up to see the flickering image of a woman beside the bed. She had blue-black hair that was brushed away from her forehead and that tumbled down her back like the curling tendrils of a rare and beautiful plant. Her skin was the color of fresh milk, blemish free and smooth like polished marble, and her shell pink lips covered a mouth that had teeth the color of ivory, a mouth from which words spilled with the traditional Atlantean accent, musical and lovely. She wore a light blue classical Greek peplos and had eyes to match.

She was my spitting image, right down to the shape of her eyes and her slightly upturned nose, the dimple in her left cheek and the way that her lip curled a bit, even while she smiled. I shuddered-it was like looking in a mirror that showed the perfection that I might someday grow into.

"Hello,'' She whispered softly, attempting to push her hand through my hair. Like something out of an old sci-fi movie, it merely passed through my skull. I hastened back with fear and shock, and she smiled sadly, sighing with regret and remorse. "How I do miss my human form. It has been so long since I have felt the wind in my hair, or the touch of a loved one. It is something that I do begrudge to my goddess for imposing upon me. But eternal life is certainly a perk, don't you agree?" She laughed lightly, and it was like the tinkling of a tiny church bell.

"What are you doing here?" I asked abruptly. She blinked, looking surprised and then she responded,

"Why, I am here to give you the blueprints for your army. Why else would I be here?" She said lightly, pulling a nail file from her pocket and filing down her nails. The phrase motherly duties played on the tip of my tongue, but I thought it pointless to repeat. "Sweetheart, having men like Spawn and Zarek on your side is good, but you need more than just those boys to fight your fights for you. You need muscle of your own and you need more than just that, you need an army of your own." She winked.

"No thanks, I'd just like to die quietly," I mumbled, burying my head in pillows once more. She sighed, and I felt it brush over my skin like a summer wind and I covered myself with the blankets, waiting for sleep. I felt her still watching me, and I looked up, my glare seething as I threw back the covers. "So I need an army! FINE! But you know what, mom? This is the middle of nowhere and there's not a Wal-Mart within 1,000 miles, let alone an army recruiting station!" I stood and put my hands on my hips, glaring at her still. "So tough. I have to just to brave things out with the army myself. I have a better chance of freezing to death, anyhow."

She glared back at me, giving me insight as to how frightening an angry goddess could be. She pointed out the window, snarling, "Did you see the things out there, those...monsters that the Daimon scum are creating to destroy? More importantly, to destroy you?"

I threw my hands in the air. "And you are ignoring the fact that I don't care!" I shouted. "Let them kill me! I don't care! Ebony will leave me alone and then I can spend the rest of eternity as a, a-"

"As a damned warrior," She hissed. I gave her an incredulous, suspicious look, and then my eyes got wide.

"No." My voice was little more than a whisper, less that a breath.

"Artemis has been watching you since the death of your first Dark-hunter ward. She is very interested in your initiation as one of her Hunters. And if you give up, it'll be like giving up and giving in to her and practically killing yourself."

"So?" I snapped, regaining my voice. "That job has its perks. Not dying. Money."

"Never seeing sunlight and having to abandon those you knew during your human existence?" She continued with an angry little laugh. "Darling, forgive me, but I can't see the perks of becoming something like that."

"So help me make my army," I said begrudgingly. She gave a self righteous smirk and nodded.

"I thought you'd say that," She said with a note of satisfaction in her voice, "So the next step would be to-"

She was interrupted, much to her distaste, by the knocking of the door. She began again, "Now, who would be calling this late-" Before she was interrupted again by the same noise. With an angry "humph!" She vanished, leaving the smell of ash and lily flower in the air where her hologram had rested. I crossed the small room, ignoring the lump resting in my throat as I passed Nikitas' bed, and I opened the door.

The woman who waited outside in the hall was tall, though an inch or two shorter than myself, with medium length dark brown hair that fell to about the middle of her chest. She had light blue eyes, fair, freckled skin, and wore a red halter top under a thick black jacket, along with dark jeans and a pair of nice looking black flats.

"Yes?" I said suspiciously, leaving the door only slightly ajar. She looked harmless, but so did most Daimons. Sure, she wasn't blond, but that little fact doesn't stop Stryker from being as dangerous as his Daimon brethren, now, does it? (For those of you new to our little circle of mythological beings, welcome! And to answer the previous question, no, it does not.)

"You're Zarek's friend, right?" She said in a voice that didn't seem very threatening. I nodded, though personally I didn't consider us BFFs, and she looked relieved. "Oh, thank god. I've been going door to door looking for you, and I keep getting these weird looks. But now I've found you. Good," She continued with a laugh, a nervous laugh that showed that she was about as comfortable with this awkward-fest as I was. "I'm Sharon. Sharon Parker." I opened the door to shake her hand, and I replied,

"Ivory Saint-John."

"What a pretty name," She said with a smile. "May I come in?"

I hesitated for a moment before thinking, what the heck, and nodding. She smiled again as I moved so that she could come inside of the small room, and she looked around, taking off her jacket and putting it over the back of a chair. I sat down on the edge of the bed.

"How old are you, Ivory?" She inquired.

"Twenty one," I answered solemnly. "Twenty two next December."

She nodded and continued to walk around the small room, and she pulled the curtains back to look out at the small city. "How do you know Zarek?" She asked.

The question caught me slightly off guard. "We work for the same company," I told her, "He's the Fairbanks branch manager." Hey, a half-lie never hurt anyone. She turned and smiled, and it seemed to be her turn to appear suspicious.

"Mmhm. You two aren't…" She trailed off and gave me a meaningful look, and I swear I could have died then and there. Forget the immortal undead army, that simple sentence would have killed me.

"GOD, NO!" I shouted, gagging and feeling bile rise in my throat. For an instant, I saw a bit of relief flood her features, and I shuddered. "No, no, no, no, no. No ma'am. That is not my territory, no. We're co-workers. Gross." I shuddered again.

"Oh," She said her voice quiet. "Okay. Well, he just wanted me to come over here and check on you, see that you'd gotten back alright. He called me and told me to come over here and see…"

"That's certainly out of character," I mumbled, and she gave me a smile, nodding.

"Exactly, which was what made me wonder…" I raised a hand, shuddering still.

"God, please don't say it again," I begged her. "Just…no. Gah. That's just…icky. So, you can report to him, tell him that I'm ok. Is that all you needed?"

"Well, no. He said that you need to get to know people up here, so there's this club outside of town, forty miles or so, and a bunch of us are getting together…" She looked to me expectantly, and I sighed.

"Sorry Sharon, that sounds great but…I can't. I don't know if Zarek told you, but I had kind of a rough day today and I honestly don't feel like doing much of anything." I looked up, offering her a sad half smile. "Hope you understand, maybe next time I can go."

She gave me an uneasy look. "See, he didn't tell me to ask you. He kind of told me, 'drag her out. Use brute force if necessary.'… 'No' didn't really seem to be an option." She too, looked slightly apologetic. "So, sorry. But attendance seems to be mandatory."

I sighed, nodding. "See, that's more like him. Okay, just give me a minute to get dressed."

I emerged from the bathroom in a black sweater which was a bit tight over my hips, a black skirt, and a pair of black Harley Davidson motorcycle boots. My make-up was dark, as per usual, and my hair pulled back out of my eyes with a few ringlets spiraling around my face. I grabbed my purse and the hotel room key, and Sharon followed me out of the room.

"So, what is this place called?"

"La Vie Nocturne," She replied. "Sounds fancy, but my friend Alice says it's cool. I guess it's a Goth place, so I can see you fitting in pretty well. She told me there are lots of cute guys, too..." She laughed with a smile and I smiled too as I brushed a stray lock of hair from my eyes.

"Is Z meeting us there?" I inquired, hoping the answer would be in my favor.

"No. He works nights, remember?" I nodded. "What do you guys do at that company, anyway?"

"Pest extermination," I responded with a slightly grim smile. I told no lies. "It's a big business. We have branches all over the globe. It's incredible, the stories some of these people can tell you." I gave her my cheesiest Kodak moment grin and she laughed.

"Sounds cool," She said, and we exited the hotel, making our way to her car. I waited for her to unlock the passenger door, freezing my ass off, and only to realize that her heater was broken.

Oh, the never-ending joy that is my life.

"The heater broke," She explained (Gee, thanks, captain Obvious, we missed you at our last meeting!), "Hence the coat. Hope you won't freeze before we get to the club!"

It would be a joke to me, too, lady, if I were the one wearing the coat…

Ah, I made it to the night club alive. It was a surprisingly large building for the Middle of Fucking Nowhere, USA, and designed to look inconspicuous, hence the fact that it was designed to look like a six story tall Greek temple, fashioned from some black reflective material, like dark mirrors. Damn the designers, a temple? A temple of evil black mirrors, nonetheless?

Of course. I half expected to run into Aria here, though the inhabitants didn't really seem her type- most were tall, decked out in fishnets or leather, lots and lots of leather, all in black and various shades of neon red, green, and purple. I noted quite a few blondes in the groups, too- tall blonds. With 'fake' fangs.

No, no Ivy, if this was a Daimon hot spot, the Dark-Hunters would be on here like white on rice. Don't worry about it. I kept telling myself it, but it didn't make me believe it.

The bouncer, a mountain of a man, didn't believe my I.D. was real. He checked it twice, contacted the managers, and we sat in the line for twenty minutes until the irritated Goths yelled, "Just let the bitch through already!" Enough to make him actually let the bitch through.

The whole place was black walls, strobe lights, screaming music, and a lot of slam dancing. I covered my ears.

"Alice!" Sharon shouted as we made our way away from the large doors, motioning to a tall woman with a black dress and short blond hair, who waved back and made her way through the crowd towards us.

"Hey, this your friend?" She called over the noise. Sharon nodded.

"Ivory," I said loudly, shaking her hand. "Alice?"

She nodded and motioned for us to come over to the bar. Shouting something to the bartender, she offered us both stools while she sat on her own. In a matter of minutes, the bartender placed a drink the color of blood in front each of us. Nodding our thanks, we sat in silence for a few minutes before a man with platinum blond hair, maybe 6'3" in height, approached the bar. He said a few words to Sharon, who laughed and nodded in response, and then he turned to me.

"Would you like to dance?" He said with a smile that displayed fake fangs. I shook my head and smiled back to him, feeling a bit dizzy.

"No," I replied curtly.

"Come on. Just one dance. You won't regret it."

I highly doubted that, but whatever. I was feeling dizzier still and the bartender placed another one of the drinks in front of me without my asking. I drank about half of it in a silent moment, and the man still didn't go away. Damn it.

"Fine," I said, setting the drink down again once it had been emptied. I allowed him to lead me away from the group, even though something in my brain told me that I was making a really, really big mistake.

My god, did I ever regret it- the guy couldn't dance to save his life. He was out of time, off beat, and was using moves that I'm sure wouldn't get him any girlfriends anytime soon. Certainly not me-he stepped on my toes far too much for my liking.

The guy even had the gall to blame it on me. "You're too drunk to dance!" He laughed, trying to wrap an arm around my shoulders. I shrugged him away with a sharp look.

"I'm not drunk!" I hiccupped. Okay. Maybe just a little tipsy, but it didn't mean the asshole could blame it on me. I took dance classes. Hell, I was a dancer. My mother had enrolled me in the classes at age three.

"How old are you, kid?" He laughed. "You skip your kindergarten ballet class again? Keep time, little girl!"

"Listen, douche bag, I'm not the bad dancer here. I'm almost 22, too, so get those creepy high school girl fantasies out of your head!" I stomped on his toes on purpose. He winced, but laughed again, showing off the fake fangs.

"The five year age difference doesn't bother me, baby," He said with a sleazy wink. I felt my eyes go wide as his words registered with me

(22+5 is 27, Ivory, run away now and run fast),

And I pushed him away while shouting, "Leave me alone and find someone else's toes to step on!" Before turning around and storming back to the bar. I found Sharon on her third drink, laughing and talking with a dark haired man of about 35. Her friend Alice was gone. I slumped down in the seat and glared at the empty glass until the bartender served me another, which I sipped slowly while burning a hole in the table with my glare.

"Keep that guy away from me, okay?" I told her when the man walked away again.

"Who?" Sharon asked with a laugh that sounded a bit slurred. "That guy?"

"No, the guy who asked me to dance!" I shouted. "He's totally creepy!"

"Okay," She said absentmindedly. I sighed, feeling a little sick.

"I'm gonna go find the bath room!" I muttered, as an attempt to get away from all the noise. Also, I felt a little like I was going to puke.

Sharon didn't seem to hear me, so I left anyway, finding my way into the small cramped restroom in a manner of minutes. While I fixed my hair in the mirror, I hear someone being slammed up against the stall behind me, along with some noise that betrayed what was going on in the small space. Shaking my head in disgust, I rolled my eyes and continued to fix my ponytail. I only looked up when the door opened and a tall handsome blond man dressed in all black stepped out. I continued to stare as he licked his lips and sighed in a satisfied manner, winking to me and then leaving the women's bathroom. I stared at the stall behind me until I realized that there was something still in the stall, and I thought that the strange man might have left his coat, so I turned to retrieve it…

…and found the still bleeding, still warm body of a slightly overweight Goth girl in a miniskirt, fishnets, and a tube top, her blank brown eyes staring up at the dirty ceiling in disbelief.

"Oh, fuck," I whispered, shaking my head. I knew it. This place was a Daimon club, and I-

-I had to get a hold of the Dark-Hunters. ASAP. I pulled out my phone and quickly dialed Zarek's cell phone number, and cursed under my breath while I waited, avoiding the glassy eyes of the corpse.

"You have reached the automated voice mailbox of-" Letting another foul curse escape my lips, and I hung up the phone, half-tempted to call Acheron, even though he was angry with me.

"Screw it," I muttered, tapping the number into my phone and hitting SEND. There was not even a dial tone, and I gave up in disgust. I couldn't call the police. I couldn't leave Sharon here, or have her drive me to Zarek's without her asking why.

So I went with the next best option.

"Hello?" Said the voice, surprised and a little wary.

"Spawn!" I cried. "Oh, thank god you answered your phone. I'm at this club, and it's- oh, it's a Daimon club, there's all sorts of stuff going on, and I-I'm in the women's room, and there's a dead body, and-"

"Be right there," He said, and with an angry note in his voice he then ordered me, "Stay where you are and don't talk to anyone." He hung up the phone and I put my phone away, still shaken and still feeling sick. I made my way into another stall and puked up my guts, ignoring the body on the floor in the next stall.

I was still in the women's room when Spawn showed up, sitting on the counter with my knees drawn up to my chin, my eyes closed. I opened them to see him, the only blond guy in this place I'd trust my life with.

"Did you get a hold of Zarek?" I asked hoarsely. He nodded solemnly, and I sighed. "Is he coming out here too?" Another nod, and then I closed my eyes again and pointed into the middle stall where the body rested. He approached the body with a whistle, reaching down to take her wrist to check for a pulse.

"Well, she's dead," He said tonelessly. I nodded, my eyes open now. "Damn it. If that Daimon hadn't just fed from her-if you had been in the room alone…Do you know how much danger you would have been in?" I nodded quietly.

"I know," I said, and I dug in my pocket to bring out a switchblade, opening it to reveal a decent sized blade. "But it's not me you should worry about. I'm a fighter by nature. It's the rest of the humans in this club who are completely unarmed who I'd think about protecting."

Nodding, he pulled out his phone. "Now, I-" He turned and blinked in surprise. "What happened to the body?" I looked over his shoulder to see that, indeed, the pudgy corpse of the young woman had disappeared.

My eyes were wide with disbelief, as were his, and I stood, crossing the short distance to the stall in two strides. I looked around the small, empty space, which was devoid of blood or gore of any kind to suggest that a gruesome murder had been committed less than an hour beforehand.

His phone had gone away, and Spawn too surveyed the stall with confusion. "That's impossible, it was just there, and there is no way that it could have-unless she was a-no that makes no sense…Her…" He looked actually more confused than I felt as his gaze fell to me, his eyebrows raised. "What?"

"Where could it have gone?" I asked with shock still in my voice. "It was just there two seconds ago-"

"We should get out of here before another Daimon comes in," He told me, urging me toward the exit. "I have a really bad feeling about this."

"Well, if there is a Daimon, shouldn't you kill it?" I snapped back, pushing away from his hand. "Isn't that, like, your job or something?"

"Would you let someone look out for you for once?" He laughed in response. I stopped moving and turned around to give him another honestly surprised look.

"Why are you trying to look out for me?" I asked, and he didn't answer right away, he merely placed a hand on my cheek and sighed deeply, looking at me with ebony black eyes. I kept his gaze as I covered his hand with mine, and then he pulled away.

"I'm required to protect all humans," He replied with the faintest type of a smile. I nodded, but not before I realized that this wasn't the answer I had been looking for. I felt a slight surge of guilt as I thought back to Eli, who was still missing. Maybe dead. Maybe alive. I still missed him. So much that I could cry over it.

"Okay. But don't leave me alone here. I'm with a few other humans who I want to get out of here ASAP." I hiccupped again and blushed red. I'd completely forgotten about my tipsy state with him, which I supposed might have been a good thing.

I lead the way from the women's room, back towards the place where Sharon and I had been sitting only about half an hour before. The seats were empty and her drinks were gone, along with mine and Alice's. Upon further inquiry from me, the bartender told us that the women had left the bar with a pair of men. Upon further inquiry courtesy of Spawn, who was apparently a little more threatening than a short Goth kid and could also read minds, we discovered that the men who had left with them were regulars at the place and, in fact, a pair of tall handsome blond men with fangs.

My stomach hit the floor.

I rushed for the exit, Spawn at my side. I cut through throngs of new Gothic arrivals, shouting for Sharon and Alice. I would feel terrible if something happened to them-I would never, ever be able to make it up to Zarek if Sharon was killed.

I pushed the doors open, nearing knocking over the mammoth bouncer, and screamed, "Sharon!" Looking around the parking lot frantically for her.

Oh god, if she's dead, I'm dead…

"Ivory?" Asked a weak voice from the sidewalk. I looked down to see that I was almost stepping on her poor friend Alice, who was bleeding heavily from a large gaping wound in her neck. She took a long, shuddering breath, and her eyes were slightly glazed over, her black dress slick with blood. I covered my mouth with my hand and Spawn leaned down to check her pulse. Her eyes closed and for a fleeting second my heart skipped a beat, but the Spawn looked up at me with a doubtful, sad frown.

"It doesn't look good," He murmured. "Her breathing is very shallow and she's losing blood rapidly. We need to get her to a hospital."

"Don't bother," She wheezed. "Sharon is important now. Get her back from…the Daimons…"She took a deep breath again and then her eyes closed.

"How do you know about them, Alice?" He asked her quickly, sparing no time when there was such little left for her. She coughed and blood splattered out on the concrete. Her eyes became wide, frightened. She held out a shaking hand for me, and I took it. She passed something into my hand, and Spawn apparently didn't notice.

"I'm sorry I did not know you longer," She told me. "You are to be protected. I assure you, you would have valued me in your army. I give you only this though-Don't trust the goddess. She will lead you to ruin for her own benefit. Trust nothing to her, show her neither anger nor happiness, and you will live." She smiled to me, showing teeth stained with blood. "Good night. I might see you again when I return to the world once again."

"Where is Sharon?" I cried, holding her weak hands. "Please. Tell me."

A blood curdling scream interrupted our conversation, and I looked up, gasping. Her hand fell limp and she let out a guttural cry before the breath left her body. I looked back down to her, feeling horrible for her.

"I'll go find her," Spawn said, taking off into the night. "Stay here!"

I felt strange sitting on the curb beside a corpse, and none of the drunken kids walking by, laughing with their friends, seemed to notice me. I looked down to the body, careful not to touch it. Alice's eyes were now fully glazed over, staring at me with the intensity that only a corpse could accomplish. I shuddered.

"Please stop looking at me like that," I said with a sigh, slumping down on the sidewalk, my knees drawn up and my arms wound around them like bows on a Christmas gift. I shivered in my sweater, rubbing my hands together before I continued. "I mean, none of this is my fault, is it? Ebony is a crack pot, and so is Georgia. Ebony is jealous of me, right? Jealous enough to get my husband to murder me for her pleasure. I wonder what ever happened to the jerk..."

Sighing, I stood. "You wouldn't understand. No one does. Hell, I don't even fully understand what is happening and why it is. For me, all of this is a shock. I mean, none of this was happening before I showed up here. Why is it happening now?" I paused and then laughed. "I mean, maybe I'm just nuts. I fell off the edge right into Looney Ville. Look at me now. I'm talking to a corpse, freezing my ass off in the middle of nowhere." I gave myself a disgusted glare, visible through her glassy eyes. "Fuck it. I'm going to find Spawn."

I stood, dusted off my skirt, and ran away in the direction that Spawn had taken. I glanced back to see that the corpse was gone.

Fairbanks, Alaska-Land of the Disappearing Corpses.

"Spawn!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, running through the wilderness that surrounded the night club, barely finding my way through the darkness. "Where are you?"

I heard his voice, a shout, and then another blood curdling scream. I heard a few quick gunshots and then I gasped, falling to the ground and hearing a sickening crack that preceded a sharp stab of pain in my ankle. I clutched it, tears forming in my eyes as I bit down on my lip. Fuck, it hurt like a thousand knives in my side. But I had to continue to look for Spawn and Sharon; I couldn't give up just yet.

"Sharon!" I screamed. "Spawn! Where are you guys?"

"Ivory?" I heard Spawn shout, along with another gunshot.

"Spawn?" I cried, crying my tears with the back of my hand. "Where are you?"

"Over here!" He yelled back. "Sharon is with me!"

I followed the direction of his voice, dragging my wounded foot with me, stumbling over a bank of snow and ending up on my back in the cold snow. I looked up to see Spawn fighting off a Daimon who stood between himself and Sharon, who lay on the ground, her eyes closed and blood dripping from her neck. I thought back to Alice and my heart leapt into my throat.

The Daimon cut at him with a knife, ripping the fabric of his black shirt. I stumbled up, a gasp on my lips, and then Spawn looked back to me. His eyes summed up my ankle and my disheveled appearance, and the Daimon cut at him again. He turned to the man with a shout, and then threw him to the ground where the man sat for a second, paralyzed, before he jumped up again and attempted to bury the hilt of his knife in Spawn's chest.

I watched the ordeal with huge grey eyes, my hands clutched at my side. I flinched with every hit, every stab, and when Spawn finally stood the victor, dappled in the Daimon's blood, I rushed over to Sharon.

"He was feeding on her," He panted as I cradled her head, trying to staunch the blood flow. "I stopped him, and believe me, that was no simple task." I looked up at him.

"Where is Zarek?" I demanded. "Why isn't he here helping? She needs to get to the ER! She's losing blood fast!"

He leaned down and picked her up easily carrying her in his arms. She was like a limp rag doll, blood dripping from various wounds, as Spawn followed me in silence out of the clearing. We were like a funeral procession, mourners all coated in black, tears still dripping from my eyes because; 1. Zarek was probably going to kill me. 2. Sharon was probably going to die. And, 3. My ankle was probably broken.

"She's not going to die," He soothed me, looking back down at me with a small smile which I responded to by looking down, flushing and brushing my hair into my eyes. "And what happened to your ankle?"

"I fell looking for you," I admitted with my eyes down, tracing the snow at my feet. He laughed, smiling to show off his sharp fangs, so much like those of the Daimons he hunted, and then it faded to a smile.

"Well, I hope you'll be alright," He told me sincerely. "We should take you to the hospital, too."

"Maybe," I said, toeing the ground with my good foot. "But at the moment, Sharon is the priority, alright? My injuries can wait."

"If you insist, but we're going to get that checked out. It might turn out to be a fracture." He looked back down at my foot, and then looked back up, continuing on a path back toward the club.

I stumbled again and then fell, hard, onto the snow. Spawn stopped and turned around, offering me a hand with a slight frown. "You don't need me to carry you too, do you?" He said with worry in his tone. I blushed at the thought.

"No!" I said with an embarrassed little laugh. "No, I'm-I'm fine. Just help me up."

He did so, and then I brushed off my skirt and kept my eyes on the ground. He readjusted Sharon's body in his arms, and then we were silent, walking through the cover of the forest once more. The walk back seemed ages longer than the run away from the night club, and the rest of the time was spent behind a suffocating wall of awkward silence.

The loud roar of a snow machine finally broke the silence, and I looked up to see the black machine slide to a stop a few feet from Spawn. The man pulled off a helmet and pushed back his long black hair out of his face, showing a handsome profile and two days worth of growth on his strong jaw. He looked shocked and really, really angry. Being the strong, mighty warrior that I am, I hid behind Spawn cowering.

"Who did this to her?" Zarek roared, throwing his helmet into the snow with enough force to bury it. I shook with fear.

"A few Daimons who crept up on Alice and Sharon while they were at the club. Ivory was unavailable and they led the girls outside. Alice died from her injuries but they couldn't take her soul. I dusted the Daimons and then found Sharon out here, and Ivory found me a few minutes later. She isn't dead; we just need to get her to a hospital." He spoke smoothly and quickly, and I held onto his arm with a shaking hand. Zarek glared at him, speaking slowly and with horrible venom in his voice.

"Give her to me."

"No," Spawn said, almost haughtily. "We need to get her to a hospital and falling off the back of your snow mobile isn't going to help her. She has a car. She has keys. I know how to drive. So please, step aside." Spawn stepped toward Zarek until he was less than a foot away, nose to nose with the psychopath. "Now. It's what's best for her."

This seemed to cool the man's anger, and he stepped back to let Spawn retreat to Sharon's car, flicking her keys out of her pocket and motioning to me. As I walked toward him, my head high, Zarek stopped me by laying a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him, blue-grey eyes distant and cold as I gazed into his, black as pitch.

"I wish it had been you," He said, his voice little more than a growl, almost hard to hear, full of anguish and hatred. I bit back my own anger to meet his glare evenly.

"Well, I wish I had a million dollars and a stake to kill you with, but we can't always get what we wish for, now, can we?" I hissed back, spitting on his shoes and then pushing past him to follow Spawn.

Spawn was silent when I reached him. "You two don't get along, do you?" He laughed, putting an arm around my shoulders.

"Spawn," I chastised him. "Stop it."

"What?" He said, feigning weakness. "If I must carry this woman to her car, I need all the help I can get. You're simply supporting me in my noble deed, something for which I am eternally grateful." He looked down to wink at me.

"Well, the least you could do would be to stop leaning up against my wounded ankle," I told him severely. He looked down and relented, unwinding his arm from around me and saying nothing more.

Eventually we found our way to Sharon's car, an old grey Toyota model from the late 1990s, early 21st century. He unlocked the door, opened the back seat to gently lay the body of the woman down across the faded grey seats, and then he covered her up with a blanket that had been laying on the floor. He slammed the door shut and then unlocked my door, adjusting the seat to fit his tall frame, and I sat in the passenger seat, still shivering, trying to warm my fingers.

Spawn looked over to me as he started the car. I cut an accusing glare down at the controls of the vehicle. "Heater's broken," I told him through chattering teeth. He sized up my small sweater and skirt and then shrugged off his black leather jacket, offering it to me. It was large on me, comfortably so, and smelled very good-like Old Spice and the slightest hint of aftershave. I offered him a weak smile as I wrapped it around me. "Won't you be cold?" I asked quietly.

He shrugged, and pulled out of the parking lot, following a main road leading away from Fairbanks. "Where are you going?" I asked, stifling a yawn. According to the clock on the dashboard, it was 12:07. Seven minutes into the witching hour. Seven minutes into a new day.

But hey, that's looking at it from an optimistic point of view. And who likes to do that, anyway?

He smiled faintly. "Getting you both to a hospital," He replied.

"Fairbanks it that way," I said, pointing in the opposite direction.

"The hospital is this way," He said, pointing ahead, and then he returned to focusing on his driving. I was silent again, until I finally found the nerve to speak again.

"Spawn?" I said in a whisper. He nodded to acknowledge that he had heard me, and I wrapped my fingers around his leather jacket before I continued. "I-I just wanted to thank you. For coming to help me. I don't know how terrible it would have ended without you there to help. So thank you," I finished with a tiny smile.

He was silent for a moment and then he sighed. "Of course I was there to help. You asked me to be there," He replied, returning my smile. I looked down, closing my eyes and not knowing how to continue without treading in territory that deserved to be left undiscovered.

Dear reader; I hope you never learn to hate hospitals as much as I do. Emergency rooms make me edgy; the ICU makes me want to hurl myself off a cliff or something equally tall and deadly. Even with Spawn there, filling out the information on the clipboard they gave us and giving me a reassuring smile every few minutes, I still felt the need to hobble out of there as quickly as my wounded body would allow me to.

"If you even try, I'd tackle you before you made it four feet toward the door," Spawn muttered under his breath, and when I cut him a sideways glance, he gave me the 'I'm-an-Innocent-Angel' smile again. That smile hurt me like a dagger twisted in my stomach-it reminded me of Nikitas.

Spawn sighed, moving away to return the clipboard to the nurse, who gave him a goo-goo eyed sort of a look, practically drooling over him. She was a pretty enough woman- short red hair, green eyes, fair skin, and a lot of freckles. I crossed my legs, tapping my good foot against the marble floor while they spoke, her twirling a strand of her hair around a finger and practically pushing her boobs at him. He returned a moment later, laughing and looking to me.

"What?" I snapped. He rolled his eyes.

"Red heads aren't my thing," He told me with a wink. I rolled my eyes in return, ignoring him, until he continued, "No. I prefer blonds."

I laughed. "You are such a guy," I muttered. He looked down at me, an eyebrow raised.

"I should hope so," He replied with a smirk. "And following this vein of conversation, so to speak, what is wrong with blonds?"

I shrugged. "I have just never felt the desire to be blond," I replied. "I don't think it's something you'd understand."

"Why not?"

"Well, I use a lot of big words, and I don't know if you would be able to keep up," I replied with an innocent grin of my own. He gave me a look of understanding.

"Ah, the age-old, I'm a blond, I must have four and a half brain cells, thing, huh?" He said with a laugh.

"Two; and that's if you're pregnant," I corrected with an evil, toothy grin. "No, I have a blond best friend, and she doesn't fit any type of a stereotype. She's pretty smart, so I guess my knowledge of the interworking of ditzy blond girls comes from all the nasty jokes I accumulated in my 7th and 8th grade years," I admitted with my smile intact.

"Don't be so harsh on them," He chastised. "Many Appolites are smart-well, they have to be. Most intelligence is lost, along with the ability to dance, when they become Daimons. And I've only ever heard of one un-blond Appolite, and I heard rumor that he dyes his hair black." He shrugged and leaned back, closing his eyes with a small smile playing on his lips.

I opened my mouth to reply when the receptionist-nurse piped up. "Saint-John, Ivory?" She called. I stood with Spawn's assistance, and then hobbled over to the desk. Spawn did not return to his seat, he simple leaned against the desk, watching me. I caught the receptionist's irritated and jealous look and I smirked.

"Yes?"  
"The doctor will see you now," She said, her lips puckered like she'd just eaten a lemon. I smiled and Spawn helped me out into one of the offices. I looked up at him as he helped me take a seat on the cot.

"You should go keep an eye on Sharon," I told him. "I'm fine now." He gave me a droll look and then raised an eyebrow.

"Show me your ankle, then, if you're fine. Just to make sure." I glared at him, pulled my leg up onto the cot to unzip my boot, and then I pushed it down to reveal my swollen yellow and purple ankle. I stared at it with a dropped jaw, and then back at him. He looked unsurpised.

"I didn't know it was that bad," I admitted, picking my jaw up off the floor. He nodded, and then gave a bitter smile.

"The Squire council is going to think that Zarek is beating his Squires," He said with a wry look. I shrugged.

"I could see him doing that," I replied. "He seems to hate me enough."  
Spawn sighed. "He was worried about Sharon," He told me. "I mean, it doesn't justify what he said, but I know that his thoughts were moving a million miles an hour and they were only about his friend."  
"And about how he wished it was me," I muttered sullenly. Then I looked up at Spawn, who seemed so much taller than me, especially while I was seated. "Can you read anyone's mind?" I asked with almost childlike interest. He nodded, looking grave.

"Why?" He inquired. I shrugged, sat back using my arms as support, and swung my good leg over the side of the cot.

"Just wondering," I said quietly. "What does Zarek think about?" I flushed then, looking down and brushing my hair into my eyes, and then I crossed my arms over my chest, my face still red. "Never mind. That was really nosy. I'm sorry."  
"He thinks about his past, and what he's endured," He told me, taking a lock of my hair and then twirling it around his finger. I looked up at him, into his ebony eyes, which seemed distant and almost saddened, and then he let go of my dark hair, brushing a hand through his own platinum hair.

"Oh," I said softly, uncrossing my arms as I continued to watch him. "The village that he destroyed?"  
"Why do you wish to know so much about the man?" He said, his eyes meeting mine. "You seem to have an almost unsettling interest in him."  
"I'm his Squire," I said through grit teeth, my head held high and my eyes cold, even, and as dangerous as his. We remained in silence until the doctor opened the door and strode in with a gleeful smile. He was fair haired and fair skinned, with a strong jaw and stood only a few inches shorter than Spawn. With a crisp white doctor's coat and a stethiscope, he was the very picture of a doctor straight out of a children's book, almost too good to be true.

"Why hello, mrs. Saint-John, how are you today?" He said with a white toothed grin, showing off a set of teeth and a smile so fake they should have been in a before/after dental add.

"Miss," I corrected coldly, glaring a Spawn, who the doctor looked to with slight confusion.

"We're just friends," He told the other man with a bitter smile. "Not married. I brought her here because she was complaining about her foot while we were at a club. She must have twisted it earlier."  
"I was snow mobiling earlier, and I messed it up. I just thought I'd come in here to get it checked out."

"Well, I am Dr. Aimond," He said, pronouncing it 'Aa-Mon', offering Spawn his hand and nodding to me. He looked down to my ankle. "And what a wound it is!" He said with an almost apreciative whistle, looking down at my ankle. "Tell me if you feel anything." He gently touched my leg, but it was numb to me, and I shook my head. He continued to grip my ankle, closer to my foot and a little tighter, and I felt only a dull pain, and then I shook my head again. He held my ankle so tightly that I could have sworn my bone snapped and I screamed out in surreal pain, closing my eyes against the agonized tears and then biting down on my lower lip. I was in pain that I had never felt before, and I felt a strong pair of arms around me, holding me tightly and soothing me.  
The doctor gave a low whistle. "Well, I think we found the point of breakage," He said, holding onto my ankle softly, and when I opened my eyes again I found him looked down at my ankle with a surprised expression. "By god, I can't believe it- the bones have already set. But how did this happen?" He looked up at me and I shrugged, still biting my lip.

"Fast healer," I grunted. Aimond looked a bit sickened.

"We're going to have to re-break the bones," He told me, looking grave.  
"No!" I begged. "Please, no!" Th tears streamed down my face in a mixture of agony and fear. "Oh, god, please don't, there must be another way..."  
_Stay strong, daughter, live through pain to live another day._

My mother's voice echoed in my mind, and I tried to think rationally.

"It's the only way to fix your leg so that the bones don't fully heal in the wrong places." I heard a low, deep growl from behind me and looked up to see Spawn glaring at the doctor. "We can put you under, of course, and we'll move you to the surgery ward to break the bones and fix them."

"Oh, god," I whispered, and Spawn held me tighter as I felt my tears staining my cheeks and my sweater. "Just get it over with," I told Aimond. "Please."  
He nodded and then walked out into the hall. "Nurse," He called. "Prepare operating room 4. Wheel in the patient along witht he information, I have to go prepare for the operation." He smiled to me. "Don't worry, it will all be over soon enough."  
"I'm staying with you," Spawn said with a quiet, angry voice, "While they do the operation. I need to be there."  
"No, you don't," I told him sternly. "You need to be out on patrol."  
He gave me a sharp glare. "There are no Daimons here, and if so, Zarek can handle them. I need to be here to make sure that your operation goes well." He took my hand and then kissed it, looking up at me and then taking it in his hands, his eyes pleading. "I'm going to stay here with you, and then I'll go, as soon as I know you're going to be safe I'll go home, but please, don't try to make me leave. You wouldn't be able to."

"Why do you want to stay?" I said with an exasperated sigh. "There is nothing for you to stay for. Nothing."

He shrugged and opened his mouth to reply, and then a young woman in nurses' scrubs entered the room, offering me a small smile.  
"Hi," She said quietly, motioning to the rolling gurney in her possession. "I need to wheel you down to the surgery ward now, you're scheduled to have an apointment with the anistesiologist before your surgery begins, so if you could please step onto the gurney- do you need assistance?"  
"No, I'm-" the word _fine _ was on my lips when I was picked up by Spawn and laid down onto the the gurney, and then he held onto my shoulders until I stopped trying to sit up again.  
"I'll be there in just a minute, be careful and don't worry." Before I could respond he was gone, and the nurse took me toward a door at the end of the hallway marked SURGERY. We pushed through the doors and into the darkness, and I found Dr. Aimond awaiting us, his surgical tools laid out in front of him like weapons. His face was blank at first, but upon further investigation I found that he had a grim sort of determination to him. I had the horrible feeling in the very pit of my stomach that something was going to go terribly wrong. Like, scarring wrong.

_Mom; _I began to think. _What is going to happen? Is something going to happen to me?_

There was nothing. For the first time in the past 24 hours, my mother had nothing to contribute, no two cents to add to my choices or to how my life was going.

_MOM, _I tried again, the voice in my mind straining. _PLEASE. _

_ Just go to sleep, imora. Go to sleep and let them cut the string if they must._

_ Wait, what? Cut the string? _

For a brief second, I remembered a book about Greek myths that I had read during junior high school in my ninth grade year-the year that we studied mythology in public school, the year that my father began to work for a woman named Brynen who, for some reason, no one outside of the family could know about.

I had sat in the library for hours pouring over the books, and looking back on it now, I could remember a section I had read about the Fates: _These goddesses, also called the Moirai, deterined the length and course of every human life. Clotho spun out each thread of destiny, Lachesis measured it to the right length, and Atropos snipped it with her shears._

_ Spin, measure, snip. _

_ Cut the string if they must. _

_ Snip, measure, spin._

_ Cut my string if they must._

In a moment of pure panic I strugged to get away from the gurey, but soon I found that I had been tied down with thick leather straps that hadn't been there before. I tried to speak but there was a gag placed in my mouth, which also prevented my screams.

_ MOTHER, HELP ME! _I screamed in my mind. I felt the fear and adrenaline pumping in my veins like steel as I struggled.

I could almost see my mother before me, her face indifferent as she shrugged and gave me a frown. No- I could see her. She stood by the doctor and had one transparent hand on his shoulder, her face blank as she watched me with her pale blue eyes. _If you had only listened, imora. If you had let me go, I would not have had to make you fall, and you would not be here now. If only you had listened to your mother._

"Noo-" I began as the gag was ripped from my mouth. The doctor dismissed the young nurse as she shut the door, he pulled out a mirror and checked his teeth, and then turned the mirror towards me.  
"You know, you are quite an interesting case, _Miss Saint-John. _A broken ankle, almost completely severed at the bone, healed within a matter of hours. Accompanied here by a warrior of Artemis- a traitor to our kind." He laughed quietly and then started to pull something off of his teeth, which in this light seemed sharper than normal. He set them down in a metal tray by his tools and then looked at his teeth in the mirror, cleaning them off with his tongue and then grinning at me with his fangs.

"Aimond, Daimon- Dear gods, how did I miss that?" I muttered angrily under my breath. He laughed again, giving me a small fanged smile.

"Do not worry, many do. It is not a mistake that I will let you make twice, though, my dear," He said as he approached me.

"Spawn will stop you," I said through grit teeth, feeling like the damsel in distress of an old comic book. "He's going to come in and make sure that the operation goes well and that nothing happens to me." The 'doctor' laughed again, his hands on my cheeks, fingers trailing down to my throat and my sweater's neck. I was trying to avoid breathing, trying to push myself away from his prying fingers, until he responded with something that made my blood run cold.

"All we must tell him is that the opperation when horribly wrong and that you suffered an untimely accident. He won't be any the wiser and I'll be another soul richer. But in the mean time..." He turned away and chose a thin blade from among weapons before him. He turned back to me with an evil look, twisting the blade between his fingers. "I've never tasted the blood of a fallen goddess before."  
"So you've heard my story," I said, biding my time while he approached again. He nodded.

"The whole army has," He said, "A fallen Greek-Atlantian diety whose destruction would unleash the apocalypse, the goddess Appolymi and her loyal followers and fellow chained gods and goddesses, the rejects of Atlantis." He laughed and then set to work cutting through the fabric of my thin black sweater at my left shoulder blade, cutting a long line across the fabric to my throat and down the center of my chest.

"The army?" I said, my voice shaky as I tried to stay calm, as the knife dissapeared and he pulled back the sraps of my sweater.

"You see, I'm not a normal, blood and guts, kill without a consience sort of a Daimon. When I turned 27, I promised myself that I wasn't going to lose what made me me-I became a doctor, two years before, and I kept my practice. Now, I put patients under, steal what I need, and tell the poor families that their loved one died under unexpected circumstances. No one asks questions, and as long as I take my victims at random and after suspicion of the last death dies off, I can continue my methods. Working in a practice that also serves pregnant women has its advantages."

He gave a dark smile. "But this is truly a sight to behold- a fallen goddess in my midst. I should be honored. I do only hope that the others will not be mad that I finished this job myself." He laughed again and stood over the gurney, brushing back my hair from my forehead. "Well, maybe I am not too ready to unleash the apocalypse yet. Perhaps I could just drain a bit of your blood, day by day, and then negotiate with the others to see what they'll want to do with you. Perhaps we could sell what is left of you to Stryker." He grinned wider and ran his hands back down my cheeks, to my throat. "You know, I think that is what I'll do. But first, a taste test, how does that sound?"

He leaned down to run his tongue along my throat, and then I closed my eyes, mentally screaming. I remembered Spawn's ability to read the minds of anyone, anywhere, and then I shouted out _SPAWN SAVE ME, THE DOCTOR IS A DAIMON AND HELPING THE ARMY, GOING TO KILL ME, SAVE ME NOW PLEASE!_

But to no avail.

The Daimon was making his way to my shoulder blade now, his fangs cutting in ever so slightly, and I squirmed away from him, pain filled and still screaming in my mind for Spawn. I clenched my eyes shut and then screamed out in pain when the long, sharp fangs cut down into my left shoulder and my lifeblood began to drain into the Daimon's body like antibiotics from an IV. My mind spun and then I fell back onto the gurney, not fighting my attacker anymore as I fell into the black abyss of unconsiousness.


	8. First Comes The Army THEN Godzilla

I awoke on the operating table again, reliving my nightmare. Two people loomed over me, both tall and handsome, one fair haired, the other with hair as black as pitch, the blond looking almost frightened and his dark-haired counterpart looking indifferent.

"Oh, gods- Ivory, you're alive after all..We thought you were dead, what happened, why did the doctor-" Spawn looked shaken and he undid the bands that kept me to the gurney, helping me sit up and then pulling me into his arms. I stayed quiet and still, closing my eyes and letting him hold me, looking around the bloody dissaray that was now the operating room- the windows had been smashed in, there was blood smeared on the walls and operating tables, and the surgical tools were strewn across the ground. They glinted like eyes in the dim light.  
"The doctor was a Daimon, dipshit," Zarek snapped. He turned to me. "We stormed in here just as he was about to finish you off and dusted him. Jesus, what were you thinking, letting a Daimon opperate on you? Were you trying to get yourself killed? Or do you just like the sensation of people biting you?" He glared at me and looked mad enough to kill. "It's bad enough that you almost got Sharon killed, you had to go and almost get yourself killed, too? What, do you want Acheron to murder me?" By now Zarek was screaming at me, looking enraged and ready to kill me himself.

Spawn stood to his full height, letting go of me, and then he pushed Zarek back. He hit the wall with a loud _SLAM _ and bounced back, a foot from Spawn's face. "Don't you ever fucking touch me again!" He screamed, landing a punch on the man's jaw, sending him stumbling back into the gurney. I leapt up, putting myself as a barrier between the two.

"Stop it, stop it now!" I shrieked, placing a hand on both of them. "I know this was my fault but I need to leave, I need to ask-to ask Acheron-"  
"To ask Acheron what?" A voice said, a familiar voice, and then I turned to see him, Acheron, in all of his almost 7 foot, sexy-as-hell glory, with purple streaked hair, a pair of black pants and a My Chemical Romance tee shirt over a body so gorgeous it should be illigal.

I watched him for a moment, my eyes wide, then I looked to Spawn, looked to Zarek, and promply fell to the floor, out cold.

"Great," Zarek muttered. "Her last line of defense is to play dead."  
"She's hardly _playing _ dead," Spawn snapped. "She's lost a lot of blood. We should take her for a blood transfusion." He made to pick her up and Acheron stopped him.

Ash kneeled by her body and muttered something in a language neither of the men could understand and then her ankle seemed to heal before their eyes, her neck wound cleaning itself until only two small lacerations remained. He covered them with the remains of her black sweater, which then repaired itself and settled back onto her skin.

"She'll be fine," Said Acheron, standing and brushing off his leather pants. "Just give her time to rest. A few days, at the least."  
"Ivory can stay with me," Said Spawn quickly, and then Zarek glared at him.  
"She's _my_ Squire," He snapped, standing his ground with his arms crossed over a black too shirt. Spawn, too, crossed his arms, glaring back at the other man.

"_I'm _less likely to kill her," Reasoned Spawn, turing his gaze to Acheron. Ash nodded, shrugging.

"He has a point," He told Zarek, who gave a sullen glare but said no more on the subject.

"Well, the undead army knows where _this _particular _Daimon_ lives," Zarek reminded Acheron, sneering at the other hunter.

"Well, _Roman, _this particular _Dark-Hunter _knows how to fight them!" Spawn replied, looking as though he was going to pay Zarek back with interest for the man's punch.  
"Zarek," Acheron warned, "Leave him be. Spawn, stop egging him on. The hope of keeping the Atlanteans sealed and keeping Ivory alive lies in your hands, boys. As we speak, her sister begins her army of the undead victims of Daimon attacks all over North America. You have to create your own army to battle hers, along with the troops that Aria will be sending. I can try to stall the army that her sister is beginning from Olympus, but-"  
"Why can't you stay here and help us?" Demanded Zarek, glaring at him. Ash looked really irritated, and then he shook his head.  
"I have business elsewhere," He told him, and Zarek snorted.

"Let me guess-Olympus, right?" He snapped. Acheron did not answer and kept his eyes distant. This was all the answer Zarek needed. "Greak. Fan-fucking-tastic. So you leave to bump uglies with your girlfriend and we have to run an army to save my ungrateful Squire who I didn't want in the first place?"

"Shut up!" Spawn shouted, baring fangs, and then he turned to Acheron pleadingly. "You heard it- he admitted it. He doesn't want a Squire. So make her my Squire. _Now_."  
Ash sighed, hating the situation the men had put him in. "Spawn," He muttered, "You know damn well why I can't do that."  
Zarek gave Spawn a look of disgust. "Take her," He said, glaring at the other man. "I'm leaving." And with that said he strode to the door, slamming the double doors open with his mind and hitting them so hard on his way out that they swung for a moment or two after he had gone.

"Well," Acheron said, placing a hand on his forehead and looking pained. "That ended about just as well as I imagined it would, even a little better."

"So Ivory will stay with me?" Spawn said. Acheron sighed, nodding and still looking annoyed.

"I guess so- But Spawn?" Spawn looked up from the floor, where he had been kneeling to pick up Ivory, his face a mask of strange, concieled emotions. "You know how this is going to end." He closed his eyes, nodding. "So stay away from her. It is best for everyone if none of this starts and you just let the Fates do their job- as much as I hate to admit it, this is one place where we should just not interfere."

Spawn opened his eyes again and nodded to his leader. "I have never been one to listen to those vindictive old hags," He muttered.

"I assure you, they don't hold high esteem with me, either, but this is life or death for Ivory. If we don't listen to them, there is no hope left for her." He looked down to the unconsious little demi-goddess. "Keep her safe and keep Georgia and Ebony away from her. I am trusting you, my brother, to keep this woman from death." Spawn nodded, holding Ivory close.

If need be, he would kill anything-anyone- to keep her out of harm's way.

I woke up in a soft, warm bed-not the bed at the Holiday Inn, and certainly not the small bed I had shared with Nikitas at Zarek's home. I sat upright, feeling my acheing head, and then I padded around he bed, looking for the end. I found it when I fell off the edge onto a hard wood floor, hitting my face against the cool material.

"Fuck," I muttered, scrambling to my feet. I had a terrible headache, too- I felt like there were elves pounding in my head with little hammers. Elves or evil little demons.

I felt my way toward a light switch, which turned on the wall sconces around the room, giving the entire place a dim, soft light, and I looked around to see tall windows cut off with large blackout curtains, black drawers and a large black bookshelf, and a desk and chair. What caught my eye was the king sized bed with a red and black duvet, along with red and black pillows and an iron bed frame, a bed that was only slight rumpled from where I had been sleeping.

I knew where I was, and when I opened the curtains I was sure of it, especially when I looked outside and saw the two black SUVs and a sleek looking snowmobile resting in the pure white snow.  
I opened the door leading out into a hallway and saw a long line of doors on either side of the hall, leading toward a single door at the other side of the hall, that had a large pad lock on the knob. I turned around to see a staircase leading down to the first floor, which I took, surprisingly feeling no pain in my bad ankle as I held onto the rail, just in case. When I reached the bottom I sat down to check my wound, surprisingly finding not a trace of it.

"Acheron," I muttered, smiling in spite of myself. These were the times in which I thought I loved the man.

"What?" A voice called from the kitchen. I froze, thinking it was the head honcho himself, and then slowly made my way toward the room. I found Spawn instead, and I breathed a sigh of relief. He was sitting at the table, typing into a computer and he had a cup of coffee beside him. His blond hair was sticking up in spikes, like he had just woken up, and he wore black jeans and a black sweater. I smiled to him, nodding in greeting.

"Oh, nothing. Did Acheron fix my ankle?" He nodded.

"Is it feeling better?" He asked, standing up from his computer and coming over to stand the doorway. I nodded, feeling too close to him, so I stepped away, looking away as well. My gaze caught the window, which had been replaced since the encouter with Georgia. I reigstered the empty spot in my heart that had once been held by Nikitas. I missed the kid more than I wanted to say, especially not to Spawn. I was trying not to think about it, either. Just in case.

"What happened to Zarek?" I inquired quietly, my eyes dark and wary. Spawn smiled faintly.

"Well, there's been sort of a change of plans," He told me. "You're safer here with me than you are with Zarek at the moment, so for the time being you'll stay here, if that's alright with you."

"Oh, that's just fine!" I said happily, smiling to him. I'd rather be at the bottom of the ocean than back at Zarek's cabin. He smiled back, looking a little happier, and then he walked over to the counter. "Hey, can I check my E-mail?"

He nodded and I logged onto Gmail from the computer, tpying in my password and waiting for the page to load. Spawn gave me a cup of coffee with creamer and sugar in it, taking his seat and taking a dip of his own drink. When the page finished loading, I noted an e-mail from an unknown address that the spam filter hadn't caught.

I clicked it, saw that it had attatched pictures, ran the virus scan, and downloaded them. When they opened, I almost fell out of my chair in shock.

There were five pictures- One of me leaving the general store in Fairbanks, Nikitas in tow, one of me in the club arguing with the Daimon man, one of Spawn and I kneeling beside the body of the young woman, one of me entering the hospital, and another of me leaving, being carried by Spawn and followed by Acheron. All taken from stalker-ish vantage points, all with the same sharp focus, that focus on me.

_She'll lead you to ruin. Don't ever think you aren't being watched; _ the e-mail read. One line, enough to make me want to lock myself up and never leave the rubber room again.

"Oh, Jesus Christ, really?" I muttered. Spawn looked up, seeming only minorly interested, and then I pushed the computer towards him, the coffee cup was still raised to his lips, and his eyes got wide as he saw the e-mail.

"Who is this from?" He said, setting the mug down and pulling the computer towards him. I shrugged.

"I have no clue," I told him. He frowned at the screen and then looked up at me, still frowning, an eyebrow raised. He looked down to the screen again and then rubbed his eyes, staring at it in what seemed to be disbelief.

"No..." He breathed, shaking his head. I stood and looked over his shoulder. He was on the same page, the mouse frozen over the sender's e-mail address.

"What?" I asked. He looked up at me, looking a little sickened.

"Nothing. It's nothing." He shut the computer. "Maybe you should go back to Zarek's."  
"What?" I cried. "He's going to murder me, Spawn! He will fucking _kill me." _ I slammed my fist down on the table for emphasis. Bad idea, seeing as how I got an instant bruise and spent a moment shaking my hand to try to regain feeling in it, muttering fetid curses under my breath.

"Well...We have to talk to him about this. Maybe he could patrol this area, make sure that nothing happens...I mean, I would be patroling as well, but we need to have someone keeping an eye on you."  
I glared at him, crossing my arms. "Spawn. I've known how to shoot a gun since I was seven and a half. I've owned my own gun since I was eleven. I can use a knive, a gun, a sword, and I'm pretty good with hand-to-hand combat. Hell, I know how to use a _flamethrower_. Now don't treat me like some goddamn damsel in distress who just sits by and does _nothing to try and save her own goddamn life._ Give me a gun and put me out on the battlefield. Fuck, I'd like to rip Ebony apart with my own hands, okay?" I was seething, pacing the floor now with my hands balled tightly into fists. "I don't need Zarek's help and I don't need your charity!"

"I'm not offering charity. I just really don't want to get another Squire killed." I stopped dead in my tracks and looked back at him. He looked more serious than ever before, and when I frowned in confusion he looked down, looking almost ashamed.

"What do you mean?" I inquired, and he motioned for me to take my seat again. I did, and he gave a deep sigh.

"Georgia, the woman who was killed-she had been my squire for five years. She was pregnant with Alex when she was assigned to me. She was so young...she wasn't supposed to die, Ivory, she wasn't. But being a squire made her a target. When she and Alex died, and then when their bodies went missing, I knew something terrible was going to happen, and that it would be all my fault. And then you, you get assigned here...I just don't want you to die too." He looked down again and closed his eyes.

I stared at him, at a loss for words. "You're joking."

"I wish I was."  
I blinked at him, my jaw on the floor and my eyes wide. "Is that why...when you saw her..." He nodded. "But you shot her. I was there."

"She's dead. But...It sickened me to see her like- like that." He closed his eyes again and I leaned across the table, taking his hand.

"I'm not Georgia, and I can promise you, if they change me into one of those freaky things, you're the first person I'm coming after, seeing as how you think this is your fault. But give me the chance to fight in my own army and for my own life." I stood and crossed to the door. "And by the way, about this whole situation; I'm not asking your permission."  
"Where are you going?"  
I took the keys from the keyring by the door and opened it. "I'm going to try and make things right with Zarek."

"But why?"  
"So he'd be less likely to feed me to the bears around here, or worse, to the Daimons."  
"Well then," He said, standing. "I'm going with you."  
"Why?" I inquired. He raised an eyebrow.

"At least my presence will weaken him, so if he does attack, you'll have time to run away." He looked down to me, and his face was very serious. "Are you sure you want to do this? You can't just have Ash knock some sense into the guy? Or maybe me?" I shook my head.

"I'm not going to run to the teacher like a five year old with a broken toy. I can handle this myself-I think." I shrugged. "And if not, I'll spare Ebony the time it would take to kill me."  
"You're suicidal, aren't you?" The words struck a chord with me, a long buried memory, and I shook my head, opening the door.

"Not anymore," I muttered.

As I sat in the passenger seat of one of the SUVs, I came to a realization that filled me with relief- I hadn't been pulled into another memory by Ebony in almost 48 hours. I didn't know why she'd stopped-maybe killing me was a full time job. Maybe she didn't have time to tamper with my mind while she created the army of Daimons, or the undead, or the evil fluffy bunnies, whatever she was going to use to end me.

"What does Ebony show you in your memories?" Spawn inquired suddenly. I looked up in surprise, pausing for a moment.

"My past, obviously. She shows me memories of Olympus, sometimes my mother, and..." I paused again, taking a deep breath. "And Icarius."  
"Who is Icarius?"  
"He was my husband." He looked shocked.  
"You had a husband?"  
"Apparently."  
"What happened to him?" He said in a steely voice. I glared out the window.  
"He raped me at my sister's temple, and before that he murdered me by throwing me off the balcony into a river, where I was impaled on a shard of rock. When I was dead, Ebony brought my soul to Olympus and put it back in my body. I'm...well, I'm not really sure how she did that. But anyway, Aphrodite burst in and demands that she let me go, and since Ebony was only a minor goddess, she had to obey. Aphrodite took me away from her temple, and I don't know what happened to my body or Icarius after this. I think she just killed him and fed his soul to the Daimons."  
"Serves him right," Spawn chimed in, looking angry. "Tell me, when did you learn about this?"

"Only a few days ago," I admitted. He nodded.

"That must take quite a toll on you," He added. I nodded and shrugged in response, not really knowing what else to say. We were silent while he drove the car through the blanket of snow on the road.

"I want you to stay here while I talk to him," I told him. He glanced over at me, seemingly surprised.

"Why would you say something like that?" He laughed. "You'll get yourself killed." I looked back at him, my gaze level.

"Acheron wouldn't allow that. If I have as much power as he does to expose Atlantis and free Appolymi, Ash is not going to let Zarek kill me." He shrugged.

"Well, he was pretty irritated about you bringing the little Appolite with you. Maybe he's still pissed." I gave him an apathetic look.

"You lost your parents young, didn't you?" He didn't respond, and I continued. "How old were you when they died? Three? Maybe four? Unless they turned Daimon. Did they?"  
"I'm not going to talk about this with you." His voice was angry and told me this was the last he wanted to hear of it. I sat up straighter, trying desperately to prove my point.

"Nikitas has no one, and he's not even an Appolite. I don't know who his father is and to the best of my knowledge when I found him is mother was dead. He's an orphaned human-and Ash needs to understand that I have to help him. He's just some poor little kid who needs my help, and I have to find him before those horrible zombie things convert him or something_. _Ash can't be mad at me for helping him forever. Can he?"

"I've known immortals to hold grudges for a long time," He admitted, "But not Acheron. Maybe he's forgotten it by now."  
"Ha," I said, rolling my eyes. "He may forget it soon, but I promise he wouldn't have forgotten it yet."

_Don't do this, imora, he will not listen. Find others who will, and stay clear of the evil hunters. _

"I have not forgotten about you, lady. 'Let the fates cut the string'? Are you nuts?"  
"Are you talking to yourself?" Spawn said with a raised eyebrow. I shook my head.

"My mom," I told him. He gave me another strange look, and I clarified, "Ancient Atlanteans talk to me."  
"Right," He said, rolling his eyes, and then he fell silent,

"Who do you think Alice meant when she told me not to trust the goddess?" I asked finally. He glanced over at me and then back at the road.

"What do you mean?"

"Alice told me before she died that I should not trust the goddess, that she'll lead me to ruin for her own benefit, or something like that. Who do you think this 'goddess' is?"  
_It is not me, darling baby, I would lead you only to victory for the benefit of all.  
_"Not talking to you, mom," I said under my breath.

"Artemis, probably," He said, his voice little more than a growl. I looked up, sort of surprised.

"Why do you think that?" I inquired.

"Because she's a selfish bitch who never thinks of anyone but herself and does things to benefit her and only her. She's never lifted a finger to help another god or human without knowing that somehow things were going to work out to help her in the end." He was glaring at the road now, his hands clenching the steering wheel, and my surprise grew.

"What do you mean?" I responded. "She created the hunters to save the human race from Apollo's biggest mistake, the Appolites and Daimons. So she can't be all that bad."  
He laughed bitterly at this, and it was then that I realized what I had said. "'Biggest mistake', huh?" He said quietly. I shook my head.

"No, I mean, I didn't-" I shook my head again. "I meant the-" _Daimons. _  
"If Artemis is all that great, I have to say I'd rather have died an Appolite than survived the centuries as a Dark-Hunter. I had a normal life before the Fates intervened and in a moment of angry weakness I sold my soul for revenge. I would sell it again to die and be with the ones I loved." He gave me a sharp look and then sighed. "Sorry. I'm just bitching."  
"It's okay. Sorry I called you a mistake." He nodded, his face unreadable.

"You say that Artemis created the hunters to help the humans," He continued, on the same subject. "She had her own agenda for them, too. She wanted to keep what she wanted trapped and the best way to do so would be to play on his sense of responsibility and honor. He became the first Dark-Hunter."  
My jaw dropped and my eyes grew wide. "You mean Ash?" I managed to say.

"I didn't tell you anything," He replied smoothly, placing two fingers under my chin to close my mouth again. I shook my head to clear it.

"You're kidding," I said, still shaking my head. He shrugged.

"Believe what you will," He replied with a smirk. "But remember, I didn't tell you _anything._"

"Okay," I said quietly. He looked in the rear view mirror and frowned, and then he picked up the speed. "What?"  
"Someone's following us," He said without taking his eyes from the road. "I don't know who they are, but I think they're following us. No, I know they are."  
"How do you know?"  
His voice took on a deeper octive. "_The Atlantean is in the car ahead of us. If we lose her, Strykerius will have our throats. _

His voice then became higher and quieter, little more than a hiss, almost like the voice of a woman. "_If this fucking moron next to me drove faster, maybe we could catch up with them before next winter-wait, are they speeding up? Have they seen us?" _He cleared his throat and his voice returned to normal. He smiled to me, showing fangs. "Anyone's mind. Anywhere."  
"Great. Now _Stryker _is coming after us. What next? Godzilla?" I laid my head on my hands and shook my head slowly.

"No," He said. "The horde of evil zombie Daimon kills comes first, then Godzilla."  
I glared at his misplaced humor. "_So_ not the time."  
"I know, I live to piss people off. I guess you could say that I'm like Zarek, in that sense." He smirked to me. "What say we test my thoery about our friends following us and take these guys for the ride of their life?"

"What do you-" But before _mean _escaped my lips the car shot forward, speeding away from the soul-sucking Daimons behind us.  
"You're going to kill us!" I shouted, desperately checking my seat belt to ensure that I wouldn't go flying out the windshield. Spawn laughed as I noted that the spedometer hit 150.

"I can't die!" He reminded me.

"I can!" I screamed.

"Well then, hold on!" He shouted back. Another small scream escaped my lips and then I shut my eyes, clenching them tight and praying silently under my breath.  
I heard a loud curse and then turned to see the other black SUV cut across our path, blocking both icy lanes. Spawn swerved to avoid hitting it head-on and probably killing me, and the windshield was hit with snow as we dove into the snowbank by the side of the road. Thank god the air bags didn't deploy, or I would have been dead. I coughed and tried to unhook the seatbelt that was going to crush me to death, and then Spawn leaned over to undo it for me.

"Thanks," I said quietly. He nodded, and then motioned to the glove compartment, which I opened, revealing a small handgun and a butterfly knife, folded. I handed them to him.

"Stay here," He ordered me. I nodded, willing my mind to stay blank.

"Be careful," I told him, trying to seem forceful. He smiled down to me and brushed my hair out of my eyes with the strangest look on his face, before he opened the door, walking out into the snow.  
Being me, I snuck out a milisecond later to follow him.

"You were supposed to stay in the car," Spawn hissed to me, cutting a glare in my direction as I padded along side him, knee deep in the snow. It came to about his lower shins.

I tripped over my feet and still managed to glare back. "You weren't supposed to crash the car," I snapped back.

"Ouch, my feelings," He said, rolling his eyes as we approached the black Explorer with tinted windows. He stood a few feet from the window, his arms crossed, and we were silent, me at his side.

"What happens now?" I whispered. He looked over at me and then back to the car.

"We wait for them," He muttered back. I looked at him in surprise.

"We can't just, like, smash the windows and drag them out?" I whispered in reponse. He shook his head.

"No, Chuck Norris, I don't opperate like that. Go for it, though. Have fun." He nodded to the car. We were silent again.

For a minute.  
For two.

For three.

For five.

And then I balled up some snow, weighed it in my hand, and tossed it with accuracy, hitting the passenger side window. It splattered and I heard a curse from inside. Spawn laughed, either at me, the sound the Daimons made, or what they had thought about my actions.

I stepped back _very _quickly when the door opened and a tall man and an equally tall woman stepped from the car, the woman in the passenger seat and the man driving. They were both fair and thin, their faces angelic and their fangs hidden-she wore a pair of leather pants with a tight corset top and a long leather coat, and he wore a black sweater with jeans. Her hair curled around her beautiful face, and his was brushed back from his forehead, and they both wore expressions of pure uninterest.

Spawn pulled out his gun, and I did the same, pulling my gun from the holster on my belt, feeling very much like an NCIS undercover agent.  
The couple raised their hands, pulling out their weapons and throwing them into the snow in front of them. One of them used telekinesis to push them toward us.  
"We come in peace," Said the woman, and the way she said it mde is sound as though she had said 'Ve come in peaz.' Her voice was emotionless and monotone, and her comanion nodded in agreement.

"Do not shoot. We are not threats to you or your woman."  
"She's not my woman," Spawn snapped, not lowering his gun. "And what do you want?"  
"We represent Stryker. He wishes to help."  
"With what?" I spoke up. She looked at me with large black eyes, saying nothing, and I felt myself walking forward. Spawn said something, but I did not hear him. I felt myself falling, floating, being hypnotized by the woman's gaze.

Before I knew it, a knife was at my neck and I was being pressed up against her body, and I registered that it was her hand holding the knife and the horrified expression on Spawn's face.

I looked down to see my gun laying on the ground beside their weapons, glinting in the snow. I wanted to hit myself for being so stupid.

"Call Stryker," Ordered the woman. "Tell him we have the girl."

I don't like being tied up- I hate it more than I hate being in hospitals. I hate being confined, hate not being able to move or free to leave. And when I'm angry, I get loud.

"You fucking bastard bitch!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "I hope you burn to death on your children's funeral prye, I hope your choke on your blood and your eyeballs are ripped out by the Furies, _AND_ _I HOPE SIMI ATTACKS YOU WITH BARBEQUE SAUCE AND A FORK!" _

Five minutes later I was thrown in the back of their car, tied at my hands and feet, a strip of silver Duct Tape across my mouth.

"Why does Stryker want to meet with her?" Asked the man. I looked up over the seat to see them speaking, while the woman fiddled with the dials on the radio and heater. The man looked back at me. "She doesn't look important. She isn't even that pretty."  
"Hey!" I shouted, but it came out as a muffled 'MMh!'.

"She's important, all right," Muttered the woman darkly. "Remember the myths? The ones told to Strykerius by the Destroyer? You know- the tourture twins? Agony and Remorse? They are known by many names. One upon Olympus resides, and the other..." She looked back meaningfully to me. I glared at her, sending her mental 'Fuck you' vibes.

"No," He breathed quietly. "Why is she here?"  
_WHERE IS SPAWN? _I screamed in my head. _I hate to play 'damsel in distress, but help. Really. Where did you go?  
_ "Oh, shut the fuck up!" She whined. "Gods. Your Dark-Hunter is in the car behind us. We told him, one wrong move, and..." She fingered the knife that she was spinning on her left knee. She grinned to me. "Stryker wants to see you-do you think how many pieces you're in matters?"

_Why? _I thought, my eyes sharp and angry. _Why does Stryker want to see me?_

_ No, daughter! Get away! Stryker will destroy you with his lies! He will try to turn you against me!  
SHUT UP, MOM._

_ Will you swear not to listen to his lies?  
Sure. Fine. Whatever. _

"That's why. That little voice you have, in the back of your head?" She tapped my temple. "That's exactly why the boss wants to meet you."  
_But why? She's harmless, just sort of annoying. _I cut them suspicious looks. _Wait a second- are you working for Ebony?_

"No," Said the woman, cutting her companion a smile. "We're working for you."

_Then take this goddamn duct tape off my mouth!  
_"Promise to not start screaming again?" She said, raising an eyebrow.

_Scout's honor. _

"Fine." She leaned back and ripped the tape off harder than nessicary.

"Ow!" I snarled. She held up a warning finger and I fell silent again. "Can you untie me?"  
"No."  
"Why not?" I whined.

"How do I know I can trust you not to try and leave?"  
"The fact that you said you're going to help me. I need all the help I can get," I said honestly. Her features became sharp and she didn't reply, and then she reached back with her knife and cut the ropes from my wrists and ankles, careful to draw no blood.

"Much obliged," I said, rubbing my raw wrists. "Where are we going, anyway?"  
"To Stryker."  
"I understand that-where exactly is that?"  
"You'll see," She replied cynically. "Just stay quiet so we can concentrate." She pulled out a cell phone and dialed a nimber, holding it to her ear. "My lord," She said quietly. I strained to hear her. "We have the girl." There was a pause. "She is safe, yes. No. Her hunter follows us though. He wouldn't let us take her alone. He understands."  
_Understands what? _I thought. _Is Spawn...working with them?_

"If he tries anything, we have to kill her. I know. I know, my lord. Yes. We will be there shortly. Yes. I understand. Good bye."  
She turned back to me. "He wants to neogiate with you."  
"Why?" I inquired. "I'm very confused."  
"Just be quiet."  
"Why?"  
"Be quiet!" She snarled again. "Gods, would you just listen?"

"Silence, Isla," Demanded the man. Isla looked to him, indiginant.

"You do not control me, Solomon," She snapped. Then Solomon sighed, snapping his fingers. She tensed and then reached for her throat as though trying to remove invisible hands, choking all the while and spluttering out apologies and pleading cries. He snapped his fingers again and she colapsed against the seat, breathing quickly and in short, gasping breaths.

"Think twice before you say this again," He told her in a quiet, deadly voice. She nodded quickly, still gasping for air.

I watched this ordeal with wide eyes from the back seat, feeling like the poor kid who'd just seen a drunk daddy hit mommy with a closed fist in the living room. My hands were at my mouth, fighting back a scream. Great. A wife beater and a crazy Russian chick.

"He wants to discuss bringing in some of the elite Spathi to help you defeat the menace that Ebony has created to destroy us all," Solomon told me.  
"All?" I echoed. "She's just going to destroy me."  
"With your death, the slumbering demon-goddess with be freed and will kill the destroyer, and when the destroyer is killed Apostolos will return and destroy the world."  
"So...if I die, the world dies?" He looked at me in the mirror and with a grim set line for a mouth, he nodded. "Great. And I was just going to let her kill me."  
"You now know that this is not an option. If you die the realm of Daimons will be destroyed and the Demon-Goddess will be freed, and she will murder the Destroyer."  
"Appolymi?" I gasped. "But how could she be killed?"  
"Only the demon knows. And she will not share this information with anyone, though Stryker has been trying to persuede her to tell."  
"But if he wants her dead, why is he going to help me?" I felt deep suspicion that gnawed at my stomach and I felt that his answer might drive me deeper into my confusion.

He shrugged. "Who knows how that man's mind works?" He gave a small, bitter laugh. "I certainly don't. We're going to just have to wait and see."  
"Gee, thanks, Mr. Motivator," I said under my breath, considering jumping out of the car as I gave them both a peeved glare. Isla regained her voice and turned around, pointing a warning finger at me.

"We had a deal," She snarled. I raised my hands, nodding.

"Okay, okay," I relented, rolling my eyes. The car made a sharp turn across the road once more and then came to a stop by the side of the road, deep in the snow. "Great," I muttere,d spotting a group to our left, partially secluded in the darkness by the black clothes they wore. Their fair hair and skin, however, glowed under the moonlight, spare the hair of one, which blended with the black of the night. I heard a door slam behind us and then Spawn was at my side, his fists clenched.

"Stryker," He growled. The black haired man smiled faintly.

"Ah, a hunter. What a surprise," He said calmly, in a voice that showed that it was really no surprise at all. I felt the tense mood all around me, and I caught the eyes of the man, taken aback by them- they swirled like liquid silver, like hot metal...and just like Acheron's.

He gave a light laugh. "Ivory, is it?" He cocked his head and studied me. "Ivory Saint-John."  
"Yes. Stryker?" He nodded, and I was silent. "Hm. So, are you going to kill me now?"  
He blinked, looking at me with surprise, shaking his head and frowning. "Of course not. Why would I want to do something like that?"  
"To regain the Earth for the Appolites and the Daimons, destroy the human race as we know it, to destroy the gods of Olympus, kill the Destroyer, and unearth Atlantis from its watery grave," I told him, my voice solemn and quiet. He shrugged.

"If there are no humans, there is no food for us, if the gods are destroyed the earth will crumble and the sun will be shaken from the sky, killing us all, I really hate Atlantis and all it stands for, and to get to Acheron, I need Appolymi alive and well," He countered smoothly, smirking to me. I regarded him still suspiciously, keeping a safe and considerable distance between the rest of the Daimons and I. Spawn took a grip of my hand and glared at the man as though he were the scum of the earth.

"What do you want, Stryker?" He said, his voice little more than a hiss, and then Stryker gave him a sharp look, silencing him.

"I only wish to help. If Ariatine is freed, she will destroy the world as we know it."  
"Ariatine?" I repeated. It was pronounched 'Ahr-ree-autin-ee.' He nodded.

"The Goddess of Demons and minor diety of Destruction," He explained. "If keeping her confined means keeping a human," He almost sneered at me, "Safe, then so be it. Our truce ends when we defeat Ebony and then we will never speak of it again."  
"And I will ask you the same thing one of your warriors asked me earlier- How do I know I can trust you?"

"Because I'm the only thing that's going to keep you alive. Acheron is stuck on Olympus for two weeks, and none of the Olympians will help you. You have two, maybe three Dark-Hunters who can and would fight with you, and even then they can't be together for more than fifteen minutes without becoming too weak to fight. I don't take advantage of the weak and certainly not anyone in your situation. Besides, if I help you, you'll owe me a favor, and I'll use that as I need to."

"Not for sex."  
"Not for sex," He agreed with a smirk.

"Or for money."  
"Or for money," He agreed again, shaking his head and smiling.

"Or for the blood of my first born child."  
"Or for the blood of your first born child," He repeated, starting to look a tad irritated.

"Or for-"  
"I get it!" He snapped. "Jeez. My favor won't be any of that. Don't worry."

"Well, then," I said, stepping forward. His Spathi gaurd surrounded me, almost as though I posed a threat to the Daimon king. I merely extended my hand, waiting for him to follow suit. "I put my life into your hands. Do not make me regret my decision."  
"You won't," He told me, looking sincere as he shook my hand. His hand was warm for someone who'd been techincally dead for eleven thousand years. I pulled my hand back first and then walked back to Spawn, who looked at me like I'd just signed a contract with Satan.

"What?" I inquired. He looked away, shaking his head, and I slipped my hand into his, still looking up at him until he looked back at me. "It's an ally. A valuable one at that. It doesn't matter what he is, he's going to help."

He began to walk away through the snow, and I followed. We were almost to the car when a voice called out, "Lucian."  
He turned and faced Stryker, who continued. "She's staying with you-keep her safe, and if she falls victim to any harm, you have someone much more frightening than me to answer to. We will not near your house and as long as you do not kill my warriors, I won't kill you."

"I took an oath to kill any Daimons- this is my area to keep safe, and it's not just Ivory who needs to be protected," Spawn replied in a deadly and dangerous voice. "I would not hessitate to kill any of your men or women found taking souls in this town."  
"It's a shame, isn't it?" Stryker said offhandedly. "To turn on your own people?"  
Spawn closed his eyes and grit his teeth, turning away from the other man. "Shut the fuck up," He hissed. He took a tighter grip on my hand. "Ivory. Come on. _Now._"

I looked back at Stryker, stumbling through the snow along side the Dark-Hunter. The Daimon smirked to me, showing a bit of fang. I shuddered, thinking of the doctor, and then Spawn looked down to me.

"He's dead. Stop obsessing about it, okay?" I frowned at him as he led the way to the car.

"Mood swings, Lucy?" He cut me another irritated glare. I raised my other hand. "Innocent Squire, here, don't take it out on me. There's pleanty of Daimons back there, so go knock yourself out."

He sighed. "Sorry. Daimons piss me off."  
"Well, they're not my favorite, I promise you," I muttered. I raised my voice to say, "Do you trust them?"  
"Are you _kidding _me?" He laughed angrily. "Of course not. Do you?" He looked very accusingly toward me and I shook my head, looking back to them again nervously. I was not surprised to find the clearing empty.

"No," I said, trying to stay calm, "But if they can help..."  
"They're still soul sucking assholes."  
"Well, Mr. Self-Hating Daimon, sorry you feel that way." He shot me another furious look, walking around to his own door. He slammed it shut and turned on the car, smirking to me. "What are you doing? Open this door right now- Spawn!"  
He covered his ears and then continued to smirk, flicking the lock on his door shut. I glared at him, pulling out my cell phone. "I AM NOT ABOVE CALLING ACHERON TO TELL ON YOU!"

"Baby!" He teased me. "You are such a _baby!"  
_"Don't lock me out!" I whined.

"Don't call me a Daimon!" He snapped back. I sighed.

"Fine. Just unlock the door."  
He did so. And then when I reached for the handle, the door locked again. I tried the handle, pulling it with all my stength. No dice. I punched the window with a closed fist, shouting many curses at the man. I stuck my tongue out at him and then stormed away, in the direction of civilization.

He forced the large SUV into a U turn to follow me. "Ivory. Get in the car."  
"No! You locked me out!" I turned around and glared at him. He smirked, shaking his head.

"Get in the car."  
"No!"  
"In the car. Now."  
"_NO!"  
_"Ivory!"  
"Spawn!"  
He sighed, opening the door and walking toward me, looking dangerou, his eyes narrowed and his mouth a fine set line. I stepped backwards, eventually turning around and running as fast as my feet would take me, but he caught me around the waist and threw me over his shoulder. I started punching him in the back and kicking at him, hitting his chest a few times, writhing and screaming at him all the while.

I think I sort of pissed him off by screaming 'Rape' at the top of my lungs, but he merely sighed again, shaking his head. He opened the front door to unlock the back seat, throwing me inside and kicking the door shut. It automatically locked behind him, and I continued to shout at him.

"You can keep yelling, I'm not letting you out of this car," He warned me.

"KIDNAPPING!"

"Actually, the term is 'Squire-Napping,'" He corrected, sliding into the front seat and speeding away from the spot of my 'Squire-Napping'. I glared at him, purposely knocking into him as I slid into the passenger seat.

"You know, I'm not letting this go. You just abducted me from the _side of the road. _You could be some psycho killer, for all I know, and I-"  
The car slammed to a stop and I lurched forward, hitting my knees on the dash. I glared at him. "Oh, and now you're trying to kill me? Really, nice, that's just-"  
With an irritated sound he pulled me towards him, placing his hands on both sides of my face. I looked at him with fear in my features for a mere second, and judging from the irritation in his eyes, he really could have done anything from screaming at me, shaking me, or breaking my neck.

So I was sort of surprised when he kissed me.


	9. Meet My Evil Disney Character Of An Ex

The remaining car ride to Zarek's was very quiet, and very awkward. I sat as far away from Spawn as possible, my hands folded on my lap, silent as a mouse, my eyes wide and my mouth a tiny O.

I was trying to not think about it, I honestly didn't want him to know I was actually putting serious thought into this matter. It was a little embarassing- I was like a teenager, looking far to into this thing.

Did he kiss me just to shut me up? Or was there actually deeper meaning behind it?  
"No, I mainly did it to shut you up. You were getting pretty irritating."  
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"  
"No."  
"I'M THINKING ABOUT PERSONAL MATTERS!"  
"Well, those personal matters _did _involve me..."  
"NOT BY CHOICE!"  
He shook his head at me, a smile playing on his lips. "Whatever lie makes you happiest. You kissed back."  
"I most certainly did not!"  
"Yes, you did."  
"No!"  
"We could try again, just to see if you actually _were _kissing back the first time..."  
"You know, I could tell on you to Ash, and you would be a shade like _that.._" I snapped my fingers in his face and he shook his head.

"Not if I said you kissed me first."  
"He wouldn't believe you."  
"Oh, are you so sure?" He laughed. "That man is downright creepy. He makes my powers look like parlor tricks. He'd know the truth."  
"Which is?" I glared at him, and he shrugged.

"I'm sure you know it, too, but you're just not going to admit it." I glared at him, wiping a hand across my lips. I could still taste Spawn on my lips, and I blushed a deep pink. Thank the Gods Zarek couldn't read minds...  
"If he could, and he said anything, I would just have to hurt him," He said calmly. I glared at him.

"STAY OUT OF MY MIND!"  
He cut me an irritated look. "If you keep yelling at me, I'm going to have to kiss you again."  
That shut me up. That shut me up _quickly_.

"Oh, Gods, _It _returns," Zarek muttered when I knocked on his door almost an hour later. I glared at the man who looked as though he hadn't shaved in two or three days, and who returned me the withering look with malice in his black eyes. "And the Blondie. What do you want?"  
"I wanted to talk to you," I told him calmly. He shot me a surprised look that he quickly covered up with contempt.

"About what?" He laughed angrily. "You're not my Squire anymore, are you? Did Blondie adopt you?"

"Shut up, Roman," Snapped Spawn. Zarek flipped him off, not averting his gaze from me.

"Well?" He insisted. "Are you or aren't you?"  
"Aren't I what?" I shouted back at him.  
"Still my Squire."  
"Yes, I am," I hissed. "But if you treat me like fucking shit I won't be for much longer."  
"Hey, I'm not the one with the yelling problem."  
Spawn shot me a smirk. I glared back at him, sticking my tongue out. Zarek looked between us, confused, and then he shook his head in what appeared to be disgust before he moved from the doorway to let us inside. I took a seat on the bed, which remained unmade from the last time I'd been here.

Spawn glanced at it, surprised. "I thought you didn't sleep up here."  
Zarek glared at him. "I don't."  
The other man said nothing more, and Zarek crossed his arms in a defensive manner. I felt the awkwardness creeping into the small cabin, more concentrated than it had been in the SUV, which, hey, might have actually been _bigger _than Zarek's 'home'.

"You're right, Ivy, it probably is," Spawn smiled. Zarek snorted at him.

"Aw, you're so cute. You two have nicknames now, too. What's yours?" Spawn hissed at him, baring fangs.

"Lucy," I muttered under my breath. Zarek turned to me, his smile absolutely evil and pretty scary as his black eyes gleamed.

"What did you say?" He said, a note of glee in his voice.

"I said Lucy."  
He slowly turned to Spawn, holding out a hand. Spawn looked disgusted and gave me a terrible glare that said he'd gladly leave me here.

"What?" He snapped. Zarek sighed, still grinning.

"Hand over your man card."  
Spawn snarled a curse as his fist made connection with Zarek's nose, shattering it instantly. His own nose spurted blood and I shouted to try and get their attention. I ended up jumping onto Spawn's back, trying to hold him back from causing himself and the other Hunter more damage then nessicary. When he finally stopped the punches and kicks, and when Zarek stopped trying to stab him, I had my hands around Spawn's neck, my whole weight on my heels as I strained to keep ahold of him as I tried to pull him back from Zarek.

"YOU!" I shouted, releasing myself from around his throat. "NO PUNCHING!"  
I saw Zarek sharpening the tips of his silver claws on his jeans. "YOU!" I shouted at him, pointing a finger in his direction warningly. "NO STABBING!"  
"You take the fun out of all of this!" He growled at me. I kept my finger raised, glaring at him. I turned to Spawn. "I need to talk to him alone. I think you should go wait in the car."  
"Like hell!" He snarled. "I'm _not _going to let him hurt you!"  
"Oh, what a saint. All of us should aspire to be as great a man as you," Zarek said, clapping his hands and giving a false grin.

"Why don't you just shut the fucking hell up?" Spawn snapped. Zarek looked surprised.

"Why don't you make me?" Spawn started toward the man again and I tried to drag him back.

"NOT THIS AGAIN!"  
"STOP YELLING AT ME!" He yelled back.

"NO!"  
"Do I have to _make _you stop yelling?" He hissed in a dangerous voice. I let go of him, and surprisingly, he did not charge at Zarek. Instead, he walked to the door, and turned around to pin the other man with an evil glare. "If I get back here and there is a scratch on her, you're dead."  
He slammed the door, and in the deafening silence, I remarked quietly, "Well, wasn't that fun?"  
"What is _with _you two?" He asked. "Are you screwing him or something?"  
"No!" I shouted, my face a beet red. "Of course not! That's against the rules!"  
"Is that the _only _thing stopping you?"

"No!" I yelled. "And this is _not _what I came here to talk about!"  
"How was he going to get you to shut up?" He suddenly asked. "Do I have to use _that _method?"  
I shuddered. "He'd kill you if you tried," I said honestly.

"Why?" He took a step toward me and I took a step backwards. "Is it something violent? Weird? Sexual, even?"  
"Listen, I am so not discussing this with you, and, once more, we're off topic. So if we could just steer back onto the right track.."  
"Not until you tell me how he was going to shut you up."  
"Not in this lifetime, buck-o. Or the next."  
He rolled his eyes and leaned against one of the walls, the walls which were far too close together for my liking. "You humans are so fucking melodramatic."  
"Yeah, well, if imortality makes me an asshole, take me off the list."  
He smirked. "What were we going to talk about? You being nice to me from now on? Being best friends again?"

"Oh, you know what?" I hissed. "Fuck it. I give up. Sit and spin, jerk," I remarked loudly, flipping him off, stading, and then when I went to open the door, it slammed shut and locked. I turned around.

"Unlock it. _Now._"

"Stop being a bitch."  
"Stop being an ass!"  
He shook his head. "You know, I can see why Daimons go after Squires. I'm glad I've never had to deal with one until now."  
The silence was tangiable. "I-I'm your first Squire?"  
He nodded coldly. I considered the fact that he'd been living out here for almost 900 years with no human contact, no other Dark-Hunters in the area who actually could stand to talk to him, and nothing to do for days on end but kill Daimons. It would drive anyone insane- I couldn't really blame the guy for being psychotic. I walked over to stand in front of him.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly, my voice little more than a whisper.

"Don't be. I don't care."  
"Really?"  
"Yes," He said, but there was a sort of uncertainty in his eyes that betrayed his words.

"Well, since I'm you're Squire, and I'm here now, is there anything you need?" There was the faintest bit of a smile on my lips, and he smirked down at me.

"Yes. A gun to kill myself with."  
"Sorry. No guns. Besides, that wouldn't work, right?" I smiled bitterly. "It would just make a big mess and then I'd have to clean it up."  
He scoffed. "Like I'm going to tell the girl who racked me before she even introduced herself how to kill me."  
"Ivory!" I heard someone scream from outside. Zarek sighed, opening the door and glaring out at Spawn.  
"What the fuck do you want now, Lucy?"  
"Listen, fuck you, Zarek, I don't have time for your shit. Ivory, get out here now-We have a situation." I pushed past Zarek to look outside. Spawn was holding a small bundle that looked sort of like firewood.

"What is that?" I frowned.  
"It's Nikitas," He said gravely. I screamed loudly, trying to run to him, clawing at the bundle to try and see the tiny boy, crying and shaking my head in disbelief. I felt someone holding me back and I was shocked to see Zarek, who had a tight grip on my shoulders.

"Leave him," He replied. "Just leave him alone."  
I turned to Spawn, who looked down at the little boy, his black eyes distant. "We need to get him to a hospital."  
Spawn shook his head. "It's no use."  
I felt my heart stop. "What?"  
He looked back up at me, his eyes now sad. "He's gone."  
"He can't be-No, he can't. You're _lying!" _I screamed, turning away to hide my anger and remorse. "He's not dead. He can't be dead. He's so young...no. He isn't."  
"He is, Ivy. I'm sorry, but... Nikitas is dead."  
I looked between them both and then I closed my eyes, blinking away my tears. "I'll be in the car if either of you need me," I whispered, walking away through the snow. I tried to ignore the feeling of dread and remorse that laid heavily on my heart.

~*~  
"Excuse me?" Asked a quiet voice, which echoed through the shining black halls of the god Hades, halls which were filled with the whispering moans of the dead. The god, a tall and threatening presence with black hair and eyes, looked up from his throne to see a boy of about five staring him down from the doorway. He felt a slight surge of surprise, but kept his face impassive.

"What do you want?" He snapped. Hades' queen, Persephone, looked up as well. She was fair, with long golden hair and a white gown on her petite body. It was the queen of the dead who took most interest in Nikitas, sitting up and folding her hands in her lap.

Nikitas was a bit frightened-these people glowed with bright light, and they were both powerful and tall. His hands shook and he stuttered when he spoke again. "I-I need to go home. To my auntie. She needs me."  
Hades laughed at this. "How did you get past the gaurds, boy?"  
Nikitas frowned. "Gaurds?"  
"Yes. You know, skeleton army of the undead, killing anyone who dares to interrupt me? Someone like you?"  
Nikitas smiled. "I know about undead armies. My mommy's in one."  
Hades frowned. "What's your name?"  
"Alexan-" He stopped and took a deep breath, sighing. "Nikitas West."  
"Well, Nikitas, why would I let you go home?"  
"Because I'm a vitamin part of a-"  
"You mean vital?"  
"Yeah. Whatever. I'm a _vital _part of a war that will decide the fate of all Olympians and Atlanteans alike."  
Hades was quiet, and it was Persephone who spoke again. "You were killed by the fates, darling, they cut the string. We can't let you go back."  
"But I need to!" His voice was no longer quiet or serene, it cracked when he shrieked the words at the queen. Hades stood.

"If we give you one month, and then you retrun here, will you be able to finish this 'war'?" He asked, pitying the small boy. Solemn, Nikitas nodded to him. "Well. Seph? Does it sound like a plan?"  
Her eyes unreadable, the woman nodded, and she held out a vial of something dark purple with swirling gold pieces submurged in it to Hades. He walked toward the boy with it and kneeled beside him.

"Take this. Go on now, drink it all. You'll go back to your Auntie if you think about where you want to go." He looked back at his wife. "Good luck, boy, you're going to need it."  
Nikitas nodded, did as he said, and then the world went black.

I was silent this car ride, but now for an entirely different reason this time around, and this time, Spawn made no effort to try and speak to me. I avoided looking toward the back seat, because Nikitas' tiny body was laying across the two seats. I shook with repressed remorse and anger. I knew who had done this to him.

"I want to make them suffer," I whispered.

"Ivory, don't do something stupid," He warned. "I don't want you going after them yourself. If you need to, take Stryker or his men, but don't go alone."  
"Would you go?" He looked to me now, and there was an uncertain fear and pain in his eyes that I didn't want to associate with a strong warriror.

"I want to avenge him, and his mother, but hot headed anger is what damned me to this in the first place."  
"Why do you hate it so much?" I demanded. "Your life is amazing, you kill stuff for a living and you get paid millions to do it."  
"My life is not amazing, I have to kill my own kind, and protect the very beings that killed my family," He countered. I watched him in silence. " And I don't give a damn about the money. I- I just don't want to talk about it."  
"Well then, don't mention it," I snapped, crossing my arms and feeling a wave of irritation.

We fell silent again, until we pulled up to Spawn's home. I looked up to the second floor, where the only windows that were open were mine, and I sighed, laying my cheek against the cool window before I pulled back and opened it. Spawn picked up Nikitas and walked toward the house, and I followed in his footsteps, staying a distance from the body of the little boy. I felt eyes watching me, and I turned around to see a pack of four Daimons in a clearing by Spawn's property, two of the group being Isla and Solomon.  
I was silent and then I nodded to them. Solomon nodded and Isla raised her hand in a gesture of peace.

I turned and walked into the open doorway, shutting it and locking the locks behind me. I saw that Spawn was at the top of the stairs, and he turned down the hallway. Slipping off my boots, I followed him into a spare bedroom. He laid Nikitas on the bed and looked up at me.

"Until preparations can be made, we can keep him here. We'll try and contact Ash tomorrow. In the mean time," He stood and went to leave the room, and I followed him, surprised to see him slipping on his coat again and opening the door.

"Where are you going?" I inquired softly. He looked back up at me.

"I have to go after them."  
"Them?" I repeated.  
"The Daimons Strykerius let loose," He said, his eyes angry. I walked down the stairs after him.

"You can't!" I cried. He looked shocked.

"Why the hell not?"  
"They're going to help. Besides, they're Spathi. You couldn't kill them if you tried. Don't do that-it's suicide."  
"It's my job." The three words were said with malice and more than mild irritation, and he glared back at me. "You'd do well to remember that."  
"Well, you'd do well to remember I'm not your Squire, buck-o., and the ony reason I'm here is because if you can't help me, no one will." I climbed down the stairs to glance up into his eyes. They were black as flint and cold.

"If that's the way you feel, then leave," He said, his voice angry and quiet.

"No."  
"What if I want you to leave?" He said, his voice the same as before, his eyes just as cold.

"Do you?" I whispered back. He paused, and then raked a hand through his hair, sighing and sitting against the door. He slid to the floor, still leaned against it, and then he looked up at me. I paused at the look on his face, so confused and almost childlike, and then I sat beside him, closing my eyes.

"I don't know what I want," He admitted. "Up until two days ago, I knew exactly what I wanted, and what I had. Now, not so much. I have to help you, but that means going against many of my own people."  
"You do that every day, though," I reminded him.  
"Yes, but I know that I have to do it to protect _humans_," He almost sneered the word, like Stryker had. "These ones-they attacked people who were already dead. What is their motive? Is it evil, or are they just doing it to reclaim the land they once inhabited?"  
I stayed silent, but I opened my eyes. He was looking away now, his eyes distant and sad as he gazed in the direction of the once-broken kitchen window. I leaned my head on his shoulder, and he laid his head against mine.

"Ivy, what if what I'm doing is wrong?"  
"What do you mean?" I asked, my heart skipping a beat, much to my dismay.

"What if hunting Daimons is wrong? What if they're just innocent in all of this?" He looked almost frightened. "I spent my childhood raised to fear the very thing I became. It was just a rash desicion, I didn't want to, but..."  
"Just don't talk about it."  
"But I _have _to. I have so much on my mind right now." I gave a quiet laugh.  
"Just go kill some Daimons for me, and then you can come home and talk about it, alright?" I smiled, helping him up, forcing a smile onto my lips.

"Alright," He replied, looking uneasy. I pulled myself up onto my tip-toes to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Just don't think about it too much, okay?" I warned him. "Just put it out of your mind and go kick some ass."  
"You know, that kiss sorta sucked. If, you- you know, wanted to..." He closed his eyes and leaned forward, and I laughed quietly, pushing him away, toward the door.

"Go!" I demanded, shaking my head and smiling. He winked in response and then was out the door. I looked out again to see that he had dissapeared into the night.

I sighed, leaning against the wall in the foyer. What was I doing here? Honestly?  
I knew there wasn't a future for us. I was still getting over the loss of Eli; and this would be the second Dark-Hunter I'd fall for, if I wasn't careful. I should have left a while ago, should have returned to the hotel and maybe requested a Hunter change. I mean, I wasn't even Spawn's Squire.

But why hadn't I? Why was there part of me that felt like I needed to stay?

What exacttly did I stand to gain by staying? And what could I lose?  
My thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of my cell phone, which I retrieved from my pocket and answered without bothering to check caller I.D.

"Hello?" There was silence on the other line, and for a second, I thought I might have been prank called.  
"That boy's death was a warning to you. If you try and interefere with fate any more, the consiquences will be worse. Can't you just die with some of your dignity still intact, Squire?" The voice on the other end was raspy and grating, and I glared at the wall while I thought of what to respond to this threat with. Finally, I took a deep breath and spoke.

"Listen, jerk-off, I don't know who you are but when I find out, I promise I'll kick your fucking ass for you, okay?

"And who are you, tough guy, to send me e-mails and oh-so threatening phone calls?" I laughed bitterly. "You're like some stupid pre-teen girl. And just a hint, buddy, I'm not scared of pre-teen girls so there's a _really _good chance you wouldn't scare me. If you're so tough, come out of your momma's basement and face me like a man."  
"You're all talk, Squire. And if you think I'm not all that though and too scared to face you, why don't you just take a look outside?"  
I turned around to see a tall, dashing man who vaguely reminded me of Gaston from the Walt Disney movie Beauty and the Beast, rippling with taught tanned muscles and his face like that of a god of lust or love. He could, in fact, rival Acheron for the gift of desire, and the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt made it less easy to ignore him. His hair was raven and shone under the moonlight, and his blue eyes practically glowed as he stared me down, his lips turned in a smirk.

"You look good for the years, Ivory," He said into the phone. "How old are you now? two, three thousand?"  
I recognized this god, realizing that he was no god at all. He was Icarius. And the second this passed through my brain, I screamed bloody murder and ran into the kitchen, frantically searching for the gun with which Spawn had attacked Georgia. I pulled it out to find that it was loaded, and I tured on Icarius, shooting him through the door. The bullets shattered the glass and buried themself in the man's chest and stomach, but he hardly stumbled. Instead, the wounds healed instantly and he held out a hand to show all five bullets in the palm of his hand. He winked at me, smirking still as he dropped the bullets on the ground.

I stood in shock, staring at him with my mouth agape, and then I turned, screaming, and rushed up the stairs towards Nikitas' resting place. I locked the door, pushed a chest of drawers in front of it, and then threw myself toward my phone. I hit the edge of the bed with my knee and went down, my phone falling to my side. Fantically, I picked it up and dialed Spawn, praying silently that he would answer.

_ Please, please, please. Pick up your damn phone, _I chanted in my head.

He picked up on the second ring. "'Sup?"

"I need help, right now." I whispered frantically. "Icarius is in the house and-"

"He's the there?" He cut me off before I could finish my sentence. His voice was full of a rage that scared even me and before I could answer him he continued. "I'll be right there." Then he hung up.

Suddenly there was a thump, I look up and it happened again. Instantly I ran to the closest object, which happen to be a dresser, and pushed in front of the door along with everything else alredy there.

The thump happened again, but this time it was so much closer that it quickened my heartbeat a bit more, which I didn't think was possible.

Suddenly the door flew open, throwing everything in front of it across the room, towards the boy's tiny corpse. Without second thought I ran to his corpse and covered it with my body, closing my eyes and preparing for imapct.

It never happened.

I hesitantly looked up to see the drawers and both dresser frames suspended in thin air, and looking past them I saw Icarius with his hands in the air, concentrating on the furniture's suspension. He let them down gently and then glared at me.

"Well, that certainly wasn't nice," He commented in an acidic voice, walking towards me. He grabbed my arm roughly, dragging me to my feet.  
"Let me go, you fucking asshole," I snapped, ripping my arm away from his grip.

"And what if I don't?" He sneered. "You going to get your big tough Hunter to beat me up?"  
"No. She doesn't have to get me to do anything. I beat up assholes like you for fun."  
We both turned to see a shadow in the doorway, and Spawn stepped into the light of the spare bedroom, a gun in each hand and his face filled with the rage I'd heard over the phone.

_How the hell did he get here so fast?_

"Oh, you're scary, Blondie. Excuse me, I'm going to go cower in the corner now," He threw me back onto the bed and approached Spawn with a slow, easy gait that showed that he honestly didn't perceve the other man as any type of a threat. He stopped about a foot from Spawn's face.

"Get out," Spawn hissed, and I had to strain my ears to hear him. "This is your last warning."  
"If I go, the woman goes."  
"Like hell!" I snorted. "I wouldn't go with you even if-"

"Stay out of this!" They both snapped. I glared at them both, crossing my arms and pretended to choke.

"The testosterone is going to kill me," I explained to them when they both shot me strange looks.

"Is she always like this?" Icarius said, looking back at me. Spawn looked to me too, and he smiled.

"Yes. And do you have a problem with that?" He glared at Icarius.

"Sort of, I mean, doesn't it get fucking annoy-" His sentance was cut off when Spawn grabbed him by the throat and flipped him down onto the floor, holding him there with a foot on his throat.

"I'll ask you again, do you have a problem with that?"  
I couldn't see whether he shook his head or nodded, but Spawn aimed at him with the gun anyway and then pulled the trigger until he'd emptied the gun into my ex-husband's face/torso/neck/crotch.

"Guns don't hurt him," I reminded Spawn. He smirked to me, stepping toward me, and then he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Mine will," He assured me. I shook my head.

"I already shot him with your gun. The one from the kitchen." He stood to pull a bullet out of his pocket, handing it to me. It was ice cold but shone like sunlight.

"If you shoot anything imortal with this, they'll die. I loaded my gun with these after you called me, because I knew anything that was two thousand years old and not a pile of dust by now was a god, a demon, one of us, or a very, very successful Daimon."  
"Does Acheron know you have these?" I asked in awe, hastily handing him back the bullet, not liking the fact that something so tiny held so much power and destructive potential.

"It's not the type of topic that just comes up over coffee, Ivy," He told me with a slight smile. "He doesn't mention it, and I don't mention anything he thinks about. We have a sort of an agreement."

"What is _in _those bullets, anyway?" I inquired.

"Ichor."  
"You mean like from a..."

"A god."  
"But...Who?"  
"Like I'm going to tell you."  
"Please?" I said, giving my best innocent puppy-dog-eyes look, with a pouted lip and wide eyes.

"No. That look doesn't work on me."

_Damn. _

"I heard that."  
_Good. Damn._

"I heard that too."  
_I should kick you out of my mind._

"How would I know when you're in trouble?"  
_It doesn't happen that often. By the way, you look like you're talking to yourself, Lucy._

He cut me an evil glare. "Yeah, right. This comes from the chick actually thinking things to me instead of talking like a normal human being?"  
_Well, you're not a human and neither am I._

"Technically, yes, you are. You bleed and you cry and you breathe. You're human."  
_You don't bleed? Or cry? Or breathe?  
_"Well, yes, I do, but I'm also about two thousand years old."

_So am I._

"No, you're like twenty."  
_I will get my goddess powers back and smite you, boy, if you give me any more attitude._

"Smite. That sounds very...interesting." He grinned. "Is that a threat or a promise?"

_Eternal torture and torment has nothing to do with sex! _I thought, flushing and glowering at him.

"To you." He aised his eyebrows and grinned again, showing fangs.  
I shook my head, rolling my eyes, and then I looked down to the body of Icarius. "So...What exactly do we do with him?"  
"I think we should leave him in the woods for whatever wants to take a bite out of him," He said, giving the man a disgusted look. "Or whatever wants to rip him in half, that works too."  
"He didn't do anything to you," I noted honestly. He gave me a furious glare.

"You told me what he did to _you. He raped you_. I believe that he should die for his crime."  
"But..."  
"But?" His glare lessed and he looked to me with almost confusion in his eyes. I looked down to Icarius' corpse and Spawn touched my cheek delicately with the tips of his fingers. I tried to look away, but he turned my face gently toward his.

"But that was so long ago. He couldn't have changed, you don't think?"  
"Uh huh. And you think that...so you shot him?"  
"Well, he stopped that furniture from crushing me, so I assume that he must have some sort of good in him," I said logically. "He must not be entirely evil. Maybe he was under Ebony's control."  
"And whose control is he under now?""  
"Maybe no ones," I remarked. "Maybe he's free now, and here to make amends."  
"Your mind works in a really warped way, did you know that?"

"Yes," I told him calmly, and he sighed. "We should put him outside."  
He sneered down at him. "We should give him to the Daimons."  
"Spawn..."  
"We should." I looked back down to the sprawled body of Icarius, honestly considering it. I then shook my head, and he frowned. "Well, what do we do with him, then?"  
I smiled a small, bitter smile. "Do you have a woodshed?"  
"Oh, we're going to cut him in half?" He grinned widely, looking nearly extatic.  
"No. We're going to lock him in there until we can get someone to take him off our hands."  
"That someone being..."  
"Well, I haven't really figured that out yet."  
"I still say we should leave him out in the snow for the wolves and the Daimons," He chimed in with a smirk. I shook my head, laughing as I pulled him up from the bed and once he was standing I kept a grip on his hands. When my laughter ebbed, I realized that he was watching me with black eyes that seemed tortured, dark, and somewhere at their very centers gorgeous and kind.

He smiled to me, letting go of my hands and pulling a sheet off of the bed. He wrapped it arround Icarus' body and threw the other man's body over his shoulder, and with me at his heels we ascended the stairs, making our way toward the woodshed in the back yard.

"So, your plan is to just keep him in here until he rots?" He inquired when we had covered the body with the blanket and locked the door. I shivered and rubbed my forearms with my hands, thinking of a response.  
"Well, at least until daylight comes and I can talk to Acheron or one of the other Squires about it." I looked up at him, at his white blond hair that glowed under the moonlight and the look of seriousness on his handsome face. "I want to apologize for this."  
"For helping you hide a body in my toolshed?"  
"Well, yes, that, and for all of this. For dragging you into this mess, this whole thing with the Daimons and with my sister, and-"  
He smiled, leaning down to pull me against himself and to kiss me again, and when he pulled away, he spoke softly in my ear. "If I wanted nothing to do with it, I wouldn't have bothered to help you in the first place. If I wanted nothing to do with it, I wouldn't have trusted those Daimons for you. I wouldn't have risked the wrath of Artemis and Acheron and all the other gods for you if I wanted nothing to do with it. Don't you understand?"  
"I-I understand," I whispered. "And thank you."  
He captured my lips again, and I laced my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. We held onto each other for what seemed like forever before I finally pulled away, laying my head on his chest.  
"This can't happen," I told him quietly.

"What do you mean?"  
"I mean," I said, looking up at him, "That there can never be an 'us'. You're a Dark-Hunter and I'm a Squire, and nothing is going to change that."  
"Who says that I am looking for an 'us'?" He smirked. "What if I don't want anything from this but a one-night stand?"  
I glared at him, trying to pull away. "Only you would say something so low!" I cried, struggling and then wrenching myself free. "Oh, that's just so-"  
He gave a soft laugh, smiling to me. "We shouldn't talk about something like this, certainly not out here. Come on inside, okay?" He held out a hand to me. I sniffed at him and then turned toward the house, stomping away through the snow. He followed me, and slipped in front of me to open the door. I risked a glance behind me, half expecting Icarius to have opened the padlock on the shed and to have been making his way toward us.  
I saw nothing.

But that didn't mean nothing was happening. I had a terrible feeling about this whole situation, but I hoped dearly that I was wrong.

Icarius coughed and took deep breaths as he awoke again, pushing himself up onto his hans and leaning back, wincing from the pain in his torso and groin. He briefly recalled the Hunter who had shot him. What what Ivory doing in his home?  
Never mind, he'd make her pay for what she'd later.

He groaned in pain, pulling one of the bullets from his chest and examining it. It was gold and dripping with his blood. He'd counted five or six bullets piercing his skin, so that was enough to kill five or six imortals. The Hunter would be on that list, along with Ivory herself, once she learned her lesson, Strykerius, and Acheron. Maybe even the one who had awoken him.

"Oh, Icarius," Said a quiet, sing-song voice from outside of the shed they'd placed him in. He moved back a second before the lock broke and the door was kicked in. Behind it stood a woman who would have been beautiful if she wasn't such a demanding bitch. She had black hair that curled around a goddess' face, with blazing black eyes and a body to die for. She was clothed in a black tank top and a short black skirt, a long black coat on her small shoulders. She should be pretty, and she'd turn the head of any man in any room.

But it wasn't her who captured his attention now, he thought with a bitter smile. He was prepared to take from her what she'd taken from him.

"I got the bullets," He said, holding one up. "We're going to have to dig the others out of me."  
"I hope the bitch didn't damage anything," She said, her gaze lingering in a few places. He glared at her.  
"I'm fine," He told her through grit teeth. She smiled, stepping forward and offfering him her delicate hand. That hand could kill and it could heal. But it usually killed.

"What a good boy," She said with a small smile. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around."  
He laughed at this, the sound very fake, and allowed her to lead him out of the home and back toward their Army's camp.

_One day, Ebony, _He thought with a small, evil smile. _One day. _

A/N

kaela doesnt believe that i can write this story. so, here i go . . .

once apon a time, in a place far to cold for normal people, lived a shriveld man with no heart or soul. he'd been alone for centuries, until the day the annoyingly perky girl from far away came to be his servant. she annoyed the crap out of him and he eventually killed her.

the end.

(actually, i think this is how kaelas life will end. she will annoy me until i finally give into the urge to kill inside of me and take it out on her. it would be her fault too.)

GO SMAWN ! !

-Ruby :D

THAT'S NOT THE REAL ENDING! It's worse . . . And BTW, Ruby, you're a bitch. And Zarek is NOT shriveled. And you spelled it wrong. And I think you should talk to a therapist about those really weird urges you're having.

-Kaela :D

HAHAHA

-Ruby :D


	10. Persuasion In The Form of Land Mines

"Remember to aim at your target, and since you are beginner maybe bit higher. Keep both eyes open, no use depriving yourself of any of your limited vision. Don't slouch. Keep your shoulders loose when you shoot, but retain your posture, remember that we are army, not day care."  
I grit my teeth, really wanting to aim my bow and arrow at the Daimon woman who was instructing me, a woman who was over a thousand years old and yet still was more beautiful than I could ever possibly hope to be. She had waist-length white blond hair and a pair of eyes that were black as coal, and she wore jeans and a tight blue sweater with a pair of stylish black boots.

She'd be prettier if she wasn't so damn annoying!

Four hours of this had me seriously considering aiming the bow at her.  
"Now, eyes open, draw back your arm. Slowl-Slowly, I say!" She snapped as she stood back after adjusting my arm again. I kept both _open _eyes on the red and white bulls eye a few yards away. "Aim, keep aiming, eyes open, now _fire_!"  
She shouted the last part and I jumped about a foot in the air, nearly dropping my bow. A few seconds or so after her outburst my arrow soared through the air and stuck in the target, an inch or so from the center. I grinned and looked back at her.

"I'm getting better," I reasoned. "I mean, I'm okay."  
"Okay does not always mean alive," She said in her quick and sharp voice that was accented with deep German tones. "Only superb means alive."  
"Superb or gun," I muttered. She looked up, irritated.

"Guns, guns, guns!" She snapped. "All I hear of now. It is ridiculous. We have lost our way of hand-to-hand combat and swordfighting- they've been pushed to side to make way for _guns._" She sneered the word and crossed her arms, looking back toward the camp of other Daimons. "My husband, he is killed by a hunter because all he had to defend himself was a gun, and that does no good. He tells me, 'Oh, Elsie, I am fine, gun will protect me.', and for this stupidity I am without husband and my child without father."  
I bit back the urge to reply, _Why was he killed in the first place? Because he was a soul sucking monster, that's why._

But if these...freaky vampire things were going to save my life, I'd try not to insult them too much.

"What's the point in all of this?" I inquired. "When thise whole epic fight scene goes down, you guys are fighting, not me."  
"You just stand in corner like frightened child, being defended by Daimons and Dark-Hunters alike?" She snapped back. I paused, notching my bow again.

"Well, no. I just thought...I don't..."  
"You are only one who can kill Ebony. She only can be killed by the hand of a member of her family."

I was silent. "How do you know?"  
"You and her, you are stuff of myths and legends. I was told stories of you as baby, and I tell them to my son. You are something of a...how do you say it; a boogey man, to us."

"Oh, great. Ivory and Ebony the Evil, right?" I sighed. She shrugged.

"Mostly. But you are known for being weaker than her. Less able to fight." I glared at her, notching another bow and sending it flying. It landed smack dab in the center of the target. I turned around to her again, smirking.

"Less able to fight, weren't those your words?" She nodded coldly. I continued to smirk. "You can eat them now, if you'd like."  
She opened her mouth to repond, her brow knit in a glare, and then someone called my name. I turned in the direction of the camp down the hill (I had opted to have my archery lesson away from camp-I didn't like the way the Daimons watched me, like foxes with a snow hare) to see Spawn walking up the hill, his black jeans and sweater standing out against the stark snow.

He looked almost the same as my teacher- tall, fair skined, with white blond hair and unearthly beauty. I smiled, making my way toward him, and he smiled back, though his smile was more grim and less enthusiastic.

"Hi," I said quietly, still smiling to him. He frowned slightly, looking back at the Daimon who had been instructing me.

"Who is that?" He inquired. I glared over at her.

"Elsie something. She's teaching me how to shoot a bow and arrow. Why?" I inquired, feeling the tiniest pinprick of jealousy on my heart.

"She looked sort of familiar, that's all," He said a bit distantly, and I smirked.

"Well, no offense, but most of you Appolites and Daimons tend to look a lot alike," I admitted. He raised an eyebrow, smirking right back at me.

"Well, no offense, but most of you humans tend to look a lot alike," He countered. I rolled my eyes.

"No we don't. You all have the same eyes, hair, skin tone. We don't. We're all one of a kind and most of us are proud of it."  
"You!" Yelled Elsie, glaring at Spawn. "Who are you to interrupt my lesson and take my pupil from me?"  
"I'm Spawn, that's who," He snapped back. He looked down to me and rolled his eyes.

_See? _I thought. _Irritating as hell. _

He nodded, and took hold of my hand as we walked back toward Elsie. She crossed her arms and waited until we reached her before she spoke again. "You are the Appolite hunter," She said, her voice cold and quiet.

"Yes," He said, almost looking uncertain. She smiled warmly and I held his hand tighter.  
"Our colony bordered yours. I was quite young when you died. I was sorry to hear of your people's deaths, especially those of your wife and your children. They'd been playmates of mine for a short time. Their deaths were tragedies, they were so young. Younger than I." I looked up at him, wide eyes. I hadn't read much about him on any of the web sites, and the mention of a wife and children was news to me.

Spawn was silent, his gaze distant and remorseful. I could tell he was thinking about his wife-she'd probably been beautiful, like Elsie, and tall, goddess like, blond with blue eyes and flawless skin-

-everything I wasn't. I unlaced our hands without looking at him, and then picked up the bow, nodding to Elsie.

"Thank you, Elsie. I appreciate you helping me. I'll go return this to the Spathi now."

Spawn still said nothing, and he didn't speak until after I'd walked away.

I thought about her words on the way back toward the camp- he'd had a family. A wife and children. What had happened to them? Did the Dark-Hunters themselves have something to do with it? I knew that Zarek was in exile for destroying a human village- had any destroyed an Appolite village?

As much as I felt jealous, I still felt terrible for Spawn. It was obvious that their deaths were not his most treasured memories, and for him to think about them again must have been torture to him.

I tossed the bow into one of the piles of weapons that the Daimons had started and was on my way toward the car, out of the camp, when someone else called me. I looked in the direction of the voice but saw nothing. The voice called out again and I pin pointed it coming from one of the tents set up around the base of the hill. This tent was tall and seemed almost for boding, black with no other color visible, while the other tents were tan or green. I knew whose tent this was. What the hell was he doing in a tent?  
"Stryker," I said, nodding to him. He was poring over a map that was rolled out over a large oak desk

(_What the hell is a huge fucking desk doing in a tent?)_

with two blond men on either side of him. One i recognized as Solomon, the other I did not know.

"A fine welcome I get," He muttered, frowning to me. I sighed, turned around and walked out of the tent, and then returned with my fakest smile, teeth and all, trying to make my expression look borderline orgasmic.

"Oh, Stryker, I missed you so much! I'm so glad you're back! My heart was going to burst from sorrow if you hadn't returned! But all is right with the world again because I'm with you again!" I crossed my arms. "I'd hug you if one of them wasn't liable to rip my head off."  
"You know, I think I liked the sullen version more, this one is sort of scary," Noted the other blond man. I frowned at him.

"And who the hell are you?" I demanded. He smirked to me.

"Your worst nightmare."  
"Gee, thanks, what movie'd you steal that from?"  
He laughed again. "You're lucky you're so important, you impertinent little brat."  
"You're lucky I'm not close enough to rack you," I told him, putting my hands on my hips and raising an eyebrow to him.  
He rolled his eyes. "Never mind, father, I think I like this version the best. She's got a lot of spunk to speak to someone like me this way."  
"I always speak to stupid people like this."

His laughter resounded once more, and Stryker looked up from his map. "Alright, _children, _stop it. Ivory, this is my son Urian. Urian, this is Ivory Saint-John, the human we're siding with in this little war."  
"And why are we doing that?" He asked, raking a sneer over my clothes- a faded grey sweatshirt, old jeans, and a pair of ragged black Chucks. My hair was tied back, but a few peices hung in my face and over my eyes, and I brushed them back, glaring at him.

"Because if I die, the world dies, and Atlantis is resurfaced, and the Destroyer will meet her demise, yadda yadda yadda," I muttered. He looked at me in surprise.

"You don't look that important."  
I gave him a devilish grin. "Looks can be decieving, Urian. In actuality, I am the reincarnated soul of an ancient goddess with enough power flowing through my veins to end Olympus and any other Parthenon I might choose to destroy. Any questions?"  
"None so far."  
"Why am I here, then?" I asked, directing my question to Stryker. "And by the way, I am dead if Ash finds out about you guys helping me."  
"He's...occupied for the next two weeks or so. I could destroy the world and he would be none the wiser until he gets back. This little mishap should take no time at all to clear up." He stood, showing how much taller he was than I. I took a step back. "But I need you to secure a place that we can take on Ebony's forces without her completely obliterating the town near here and where we can fight without human interference."  
"Why so pro-people all of the sudden?" I asked with a droll sort of a smile. He shrugged.

"I have nothing against eating their souls and destroying their lives, but it gets sort of irritating when police are shooting at you and you're trying to take on an army of the undead."  
"Speaking of the UA..." I began, and Stryker gave me a look that was almost confused so I clarified, "Undead Army, I mean, how do we kill them?"  
"The same way one would kill a movie vampire. Stake them, chop the body into bits, and either burn them or put the remains in running water."  
"Fun," I muttered under my breath. Then louder I responded, "Well, I'll get right on that securing thing. Do you have lasers I can use? Caution tape?"  
"You know, I haven't known you five minute and I'm already prepared to kill you," Urian told me. I smirked, blowing him a kiss.

"Aw, I love you too," I responded, winking to him. When his father turned away he flipped me off. I returned his gesture with a not so G-rated gesture of my own.

"I saw both of those," Stryker told us. He pushed a small gun close to me. It looked lke it was loaded with tranquilizers, and I took it, weighing it in my hand. I aimed it at Urian, who glared at me. "No, it's to mark off the territory. Anyone human won't be able to see it, but to one of us it will be visible."  
"And what makes you think that the zombies are going to stay within those boundaries?" I inquired. He gave a dark laugh.

"Persuesion in the form of land mines," He told me. I grinned.

"Strykerius, my dear," I said, loading the gun and cocking it, "You are my kind of a man."  
"Ew, please do _not _say something like that in front of me," Groaned Urian. "Kill her already. End my agony."  
I shook my head, rolling my eyes and turning toward the tent's exit, and when I reached it I turned around again. "By the way, Urian, I hope I don't run into you on the battlefield. I tend to blur the line between friend and foe when I fight."  
"Funny, seeing as how I'm not your friend."  
"Well, I'll store that away in my Urian file. Sweet dreams, boys." I turned and walked out into the bitter cold night.

I continued toward the car and I found that Spawn hadn't returned yet. Well, lah-de-freaking-dah. I tried the doors and found them all locked. I sighed, considering just staying here until he came back, but I instead decided to put the gun in my pocket and walk back toward the hill.

When I reached it, I found the two of them still standing shin-deep in the snow talking together, laughing about something and speaking in quiet tones. I glared at them both, and Spawn smiled to me.

"Do you need something, Ivy?" He asked. I glared at him full force, my eyes narrow and a bitter frown on my lips.

"Give me the keys, and for god's sake, _don't _call me Ivy!"  
He gave me a look of shock. "Well, don't call me Lucy and we'll be just fine," He snapped back. Elsie laughed quietly, the sound like ringing bells, and I fought back the urge to tell her to shut the hell up.

"I almost forgot that was your name. Who came up with that _ridiculous _nickname?" She smiled, not showing fangs.

I glared at her, not speaking as Spawn fished the keys from his pocket and tossed them to me. They landed a bit off target, a few feet back in the snow. I stormed over to retrieve them, cursing them both under my breath all the while, fully aware that they could both hear me loud and clear.

I was halfway down the hill with the keys when someone grabbed me tightly by my arm, dragging me forward at a more rapid pace. I looked up to see Spawn, his face pretty fucking furious as he looked coldly forward.

"I-" I began.

"Don't even _speak,_" He snapped. We were silent until we reached the bottom of the hill, then I ripped my arm away and continued to walk through the camp, trying to not look like a sullen teenager who'd just been reprimanded by a parent. But I couldn't wipe the glare off of my face, no matter how hard I tried to.

"Are you mad?" I asked quietly. He glared at me for a second and then he looked ahead, toward the car.

"Not mad," He said calmly, and then he glared back at me. "Furious."

"Well then," I said, stopping dead in my tracks and crossing my arms. "Maybe I should just stay here. Or go back to Zarek's."  
He continued walking, not even stopping to look back at me. "Maybe you should," He called back. I glowered at him, running to catch up. He stopped when he reached the car, and I handed him the keys. He unlocked his door and then mine, and as soon as I shut my door he took off.  
The silence was deafening.

"Please don't be mad at me," I pleaded quietly after about ten minutes of nothing but icy terrain and silence. He cut me another sharp look, narrowing his black eyes.

"Why were you being such a...such a bitch?" He demanded. "Elsie wasn't doing anything. She was trying to train you to keep yourself _alive. _Jesus, Ivy, you can't at least act grateful?"  
"It wasn't that," I admitted in a whisper.

"What else was th-Oh." He fell silent. "Don't tell me that you acted like that all because I had a family _thousands of years before you were born_."  
"It's just-"  
"That had nothing to do with you," He told me angrily. "Why the hell would you even be bothered by that?"  
"Well-"  
"You said it yourself. There is never going to be an 'us'. _Ever. _Understand?"  
"Yes," I said, willing myself to stay strong.

"Ivory, I'm sorry, but that's something that neither of us need. I know it's tempting, but-"  
"I don't know what you're talking about," I sniffed, crossing my arms and turning away. He sighed, giving me a withering look.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about. You've thought about it before."  
"So what if I do and so what if I have. Nothing is ever going to happen, like you said."  
"Exactly. Which is why I think you should go back to your hotel, just so we can be sure _nothing _happens." I looked over at him, feeling my heart stop and then start up again at an irregular pace.

"What?" I said in disbelief. He repeated what he'd said. "No, I heard you the first time, but-Why?"  
"Because I can't focus on keeping you safe and keeping everyone else safe," He said in an almost irritated tone. I glared at him again.

"Then don't keep me safe!" I yelled. "See if I care!"

"Oh, Ivy," He said quietly. "Like I could _ever _do that."  
I was silent. There was nothing else for me to say. He approached his home after a little more awkward silence, and I got out of the car in frosty silence, storming up the front steps. He unlocked the door and swung it open, and I contunied my warpath up to my spare bedroom. I grabbed my backpack and the suit case that housed some of the clothing from my hotel room.

I dragged it down the stairs, listening to the sound of it hitting the carpeted steps on the way down, and Spawn raised an eyebrow at me. "Do you need some help?"  
"Leave me alone," I snapped angrily, dragging my suitcase behind me. He ignored me and picked it up, taking it to the car, and I pushed my backpack in after it. After this was finished I got into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut.

"You don't want to come in for a while?" He inquired.  
"Why should I?" I muttered, crossing my arms and turning away. "The sooner you can get back to your oh-so important existance, the better."  
He sighed, opening my door again and standing to the side of my seat. I tried to avoid his eyes contact but he took my face into his hands gently and made me look into his eyes.

"You know just as well as I do why I chose to do this. You're making it sound as though I'm kicking you out."  
"Because you are." He frowned at me.

"You're making it sound as if I don't think you're important anymore."  
"Because you don't."

"You're making it sound as though I'm abandoning you."  
"Again, because you are."  
"Well-"  
"Listen, we could stand here all night and go over all the things I've ever gotten wrong in my life, or you could take me back to my hotel. The sooner the better, like I said."  
He sighed, shutting the door and walking around to his side. He started the car and drove away from the home in silence, and I had the feeling that the car ride was going to consist of this again.

"Ivory?" He remarked quietly. I looked over.

"What?" I snapped.

"I'm sorry," He said softly.

Those words almost brought me to tears, they sounded so sincere and heartfelt. As it was, I turned the other way to look out at the snow.

"I hope you are," I whispered back, letting my bangs fall into my eyes to hide the fact that I was close to tears. Of course, it didn't hide that face from the stupid all-powerful-immortal-vampire-slayer-with-super-mind-reading-powers, but I tried my best. And when he looked over at me with black eyes that showed almost nothing but pity, I felt my heart shatter into a million little icy pieces.

We reached the hotel in Fairbanks after a short drive, and I got out of the car, pulling my bags behind me through the snow. Once again, Spawn followed me, taking the suitcase from me and carrying it himself. I glared up at him.

"I don't need your help," I remarked curtly. He raised and eyebrow but said nothing more on the subject.  
We approached the front desk, and I retrieved one of my room keys. I tried to take my suitcase from Spawn, but he wouldn't let me take it from him. He shook his head, holding onto its handle tighter.

"I'll just take it up to your room, I don't mind."  
"Fine," I sighed, walking in the direction of the elevator. When we approached it, he pressed the call button and we waited in silence again.

"Do you want me to pick you up tomorrow to take you to the camp?"  
"Not really, no," I remarked, trying to sound calmer than I felt. As it was, my heart was still beating in irregular time and I could barely keep a hold on my breathing as to keep from hyperventilating. "I have the snow mobile. I'll just call Solomon of Isla to find out where it is. Or, hey, I could catch a ride with one of them. A car full of Daimons can't be that bad."  
"That's really dangerous."  
"And _you're _not supposed to be worrying about me. I'm not your problem anymore." I crossed my arms and stepped into the elevator when the doors slowly slid open.

"You know exactly why I can't do that," He remarked, sounding like a parent with an unruly child. He sighed, shaking his head, and when the doors slowly opened again on the third floor, he continued, "I took an oath to protect any humans."  
"Well there I was, feeling pretty special for a second," I snapped back sarcastically. He frowned at me.

"You know, you're not being very mature about all of this," He told me. I crossed my arms and turned around to face him, glaring at him.

"Yeah, try to be in my shoes. I get plunked down in the middle of fucking nowhere, have to be the squire to a psychopath, rescue this poor little appolite kid who turns out to not even be an appolite and then his zombie mom attacks us. I keep getting visions of things I've _never wanted to know _about from my twin who apparently hates my fucking guts and is gunning for me, and then I find out that every time I get them they kill me a little bit more and there's nothing I can do to stop them. Oh, and then my mom starts talking to me in my mind about how I have to resurrect our pantheon, and I have to make an army to take on these freaky undead zombie things. That army turns out to be run by my mortal enemy, and so I'm fighitng alongside a group of Spathi Daimons.

"I meet this nice guy, and I think, hey, maybe my luck is changing! But he kicks me out because I'm too much of a distraction and then I'm right back at square one, unprotected and scared out of my fucking mind." I uncrossed my arms and turned around again, looking for my room's number. "So yeah, excuse me for not being so mature, but I'm king of losing it over this fight."  
He didn't respond, and then I found my room, unlocking it and tossing my backpack inside. I snatched my suitcase from Spawn and then I put it on the other side of the door, and then I tried to slam the door shut. I couldn't, though, because Spawn placed his hand on the door frame, and while I was feeling like a bitch, it wasn't him I wanted to hurt.

He opened the door fully and stepped inside, looking around.  
"Can you please just leave now?" I snapped.  
He looked over at me, frowning again. "In a minute." Instead of leaving, though, he sat down on one of the beds, putting his arms behind him to support him. "I'm sorry, again. I know that you're going through a stressful time, and me making you leave isn't helping. But Ivy, you have to trust me when I say it's for the best. Having you with me...Acheron and Zarek were right, something will happen and you'll be hurt, and it will all be my fault."  
I felt tears stinging my eyes again at the worry in his voice. "I'm fully grown," I said calmly. "I can take care of myself. I'm pretty much an expert in not getting myself maimed or killed."  
"I wasn't talking about physical pain."  
I fell silent, not knowing what to say in response to this. I looked over at the clock. It was 4:51 AM.

"You should get home," I told him quietly. He looked to the clock too, and he nodded.

"Goodbye, Ivory," He said, his voice little more than a whisper, standing and then leaning down to kiss my forehead. Before I could respond again he was gone.

I waited until Iwas totally sure he couldn't hear me before I threw myself to my bed and cried, burying my face in one of the pillows and thinking about how fucking unfair my life had become in the last week.

After I had finished my cry fest, I fell asleep on the duvet of the hotel bed, falling into a deep and thankfully dreamless sleep. It was as I was drifting off that I remembered the task that Stryker had given me. Oh well, when I woke up again I'd get right on that. Maybe if I went out to secure the battlefield during the day, I'd have less of a chance of running into Spawn. And if I did, well, I would be the least of his worries.

When I awoke again, faint sunlight was seeping through curtained windows, I rolled away from the light, trying to avoid becoming fully awake. Resistance was futile, however, because my mind began to run at a million miles an hour again and I realized that there was no way I would be able to fall back to sleep.

Opening my eyes slowly and looking around, I realized something else. I was in the small hotel room I'd rented only a few days ago. Oh, god, it hadn't been just some terrible dream. I'd actually been kicked out.

I rubbed my hands over my eyes, trying to fully wake up but not wanting to remember the events of this morning, or last night, or whatever. I rolled out of bed, brushing a hand through my hair. God, I needed to shower.

I walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind me, and then I stared into my reflection in the mirror. My eyes appeared wild, stormy grey and smeared with unwashed black make-up, my hair a rat's nest of tangled curls and frizzing up in the back. I was still wearing the jeans and the tank top that I'd had on under my sweatshirt. I turned on the faucet and splashed water on my face. My make-up ran down my cheeks like black rivers and I wiped it away with the back of my hand.

I turned away from the mirror to turn on the shower, and as I stepped inside a minute later, I heard something from outside that sounded like the handle of the door being turned rapidly. I tried to ignore it, rationalyzing it away as house cleaning, but when it continued I turned off the shower and stepped out, wrapping a towel around myself before carefuly and quietly opening the door leading out into the room.

I was shocked to see that the door had been thrown open and that the lock was broken on it, melted like plastic in a fire. I covered myself up more tightly as I searched the room. Nothing was missing-my computer was still on the bed, along with my cell phone, and my mp3 player was laying on the bedside table. So what had been the point in someone breaking in?  
Seeing the door close out of the corner of my eye, I looked and saw a tall shape emerging from the darkness behind the door. I was frozen with fear until I saw Iccarius smirking at me, taking in my lack of clothing and the look of horror on my face.

Then my fear wasn't frozen. I started screaming bloody murder and he snapped his fingers. My voice was gone.

I clutched at my throat with the hand that wasn't holding up my towel, and then he aproached me with a slow predator's gait, his gaze hypnotizing and heated.

I stepped back, hitting the wall by the window, and I ripped open the curtains, sincerely hoping that he was just a Daimon on steriods with black hair and a tan.  
Let's just say he's not.

He made a move to grab for my wrist and I pulled away, still fighting him and trying to scream. He pushed me against the wall, a hand at my throat, pinning me there easily, and I felt my eyes go huge. How had he gotten in here?  
"It's a public place, open to Daimons, demons, whatever you are, and anyone else who wants to show up." I felt a surge of surprise. He was reading minds now?  
"Whenever I kill a demon or one of Artemis' hunters, I can absorb their powers," He told me with a sly, wicked grin. I gasped and was rewarded for the action with a sharp pain in my throat.

_Not Spawn, _I thought quickly. _Dear god, anyone but Spawn..._

"What about Eli?" He said with another evil smile. "Or...What was her name? Branwen, wasn't it?"  
I felt realization hit me and then boiling rage. I kicked at him, still trying to scream. He continued to speak, a hand on my throat. "I tried to catch up with you earlier, when you first came back onto the radar because you'd become a Squire. I kept trying to get you stationed closer to Greece, perhaps if you were close enough Ebony would shut the fuck up and kill you already, but no matter how many of your hunters I destroyed, you kept being assigned to the U.S." He gave me an evil smile again. "So we brought the death and destruction to you. Ebony wants to meet you, Ivory."  
I used what little energy I had left to spit in his face. He snarled, throwing me against an adjacent wall.

"You evil little bitch!" He shrieked, running at me to kick me. I rolled away, but he grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me up, holding a knife to my throat. My hands, which were holding onto my towel, shook, and I struggled still to regain my voice. "Get dressed. We're leaving."  
He pushed me down roughly onto one of the beds, near my suitcase. I picked out my clothes and walked toward the bathroom, breaking eye contact with him. As I reached it, though, the door slammed shut. Great. Telekinesis.

"I am not letting you out of my sight," He said, narrowing his eyes at me. I stayed covered up in my towel, glaring at him, and he shook his head. "And unless you plan on walking out into the snow with no clothes on, you should get dressed."  
"Stop watching me. Jesus, close your eyes or something."  
"Why should I?" He snapped. "You are my wife."  
"No, buddy, I'm not. News flash, that was 2,000 years ago. I'm a completely different person now."  
"It shows. _My _Ivory would never speak to me in such a disrespecting tone."  
"Maybe if you hadn't pushed _your _Ivory off of a cliff, she wouldn't hate you so much!" I snapped angrily. He rolled his eyes, and I threw the towel over his face. By the time he'd regained his composure, I had most of my clothes on. I turned around while I was putting on my shirt, and I mirrored his glare when I turned around once more.

"I'm coming back, right?" I joked. He gave me a withering look.

"What the hell do you think?" He snapped, glaring at me. I shrugged. "We're been trying to track you down for 2,000 years to kill you."  
"I'm aware of that. Have fun unleashing the apocolypse, asshole. I'll be laughing my ass off in Tartarus while you burn."  
"Such big talk for someone so small," He laughed, taking a step toward me to demonstrate the differences in our heights. I merely shrugged.

"Not too small to kick your ass," I remarked, drawing myself up to my full height and placing my hands on my hips, resting my weight on my right leg.

"We'll see about that," He replied nonchalantly, pushing me toward the door. "Now come on. We have an engagement to keep."  
He took a rough grip on my arm and dragged me out of the room, not bothering to shut the door behind us. I had planned to make a scene if he took me through the lobby in the hopes of getting away, but he instead opted to force me onto the stairs.

I gave him an angry glare. "Asshole," I muttered.

"Shut up, would you?"  
"Why should I?"  
He gave an angry growl, pushing me up against the wall of the stairwell. I half expected the creep to kiss me, so I was unprepared for the words that he hissed in my ear.

"Because if you aren't quiet and cooperative, I will slit your throat and leave you in the snow for the wolves."  
His words were dangerous and dark and there was no reason not to think that he wouldn't make good on his threat.

"What an image," I said, struggling to move away from him. He placed his a hand on both sides of the wall I was trapped against, and he brought his face toward mine to whisper in my ear.

"Well, if that doesn't compel you to listen, how about this?" His voice became quieter and I could feel his breath on my earlobe. "If you don't cooperate with us, I will kill your Hunter."  
"Zarek?" I inquired, trying to keep my voice steady. No, of course that wasn't the Hunter he spoke of.  
"What is his name..." He acted as though he couldn't remember. "Ah. Of course, there it is, right on the forefront of your mind." He tapped my temple, grinning to me like the villian of a cartoon. "_Spawn_."

"Don't you dare touch him!" I cried, feeling horror rip through me like a bullet. Iccarius laughed, and the deep sound made me want to hit him more than ever before, and then he continued.

"Why, is that _love _in your tone?" He laughed. "Or is it merely a protective instinct?"  
"Shut up," I whispered, closing my eyes and turning away.

He grabbed my face to turn it towards his, and believe me, it didn't for one second feel the same as when Spawn did that. Not the same at all. Iccarius was violent and whiny and in love with himself, and Spawn was...

Spawn was none of those things. Well, maybe violent toward Daimons, but never toward me.

Iccarius was apparently reading my thoughts as soon as they came into my head. "Aw, is the Ice Queen's heart thawing?"  
"Just like your mind," I muttered. He glared at me again, removing his hands from the wall and snatching my arm again and pulling me down the stairs. I knew better than to struggle, and as it was, I was lost in my own thoughts. If I accompanied Iccarius back to their camp, I would be killed. If I didn't, Spawn would be.  
So I followed him.

He led me to one of the cars in the parking lot after disabling the alarm on the emergency exit, and I studied the sleek black Porche with disinterest. Yeah, it was a nice car, but I really fucking hated the driver, so that kind of took the awesomeness away from it. Kind of.

He pushed me roughly into the passenger seat, and before I had even had time to blink he was in his seat. He searched under his seat for something, and then he tied my hands together tightly with rope. I rolled my eyes at him.

"You're such a fucking cliche," I muttered. He shot me a glare and I fell silent.

At least for a minute, until the car started and we headed away from Fairbanks. Then I started humming.

"What the hell are you singing?"  
"Not singing," I corrected him. "Humming."  
"What the fuck is the difference," Sighed the young, evil man. "And what is it? Some weird chant?"  
"No," I said, pushing my feet up on the dash board. "If you must know, it's Cohen's Masterpiece."  
"Never heard of it. Jesus, can't you sing something good, like AC/DC?"  
"Why don't you?" I snapped.  
"Because I don't sing."  
"Neither do I. I hum."  
"Well, cut it out."

"Make me, tough guy."  
People have the habit of solving the issue of my big mouth with Duct Tape. As I quickly learned, Iccarius is no different.  
We stopped on the side of the road a while later by a large open Field of white, much like the hill that housed Stryker's troops' tents. I looked up.

_This sure doesn't look like a camp, _I thought to him. He gave me an evil smile.

"Just get out of the damn car," He demanded.  
I held up my tied hands, and he sighed.  
"Do I have to do everything?"  
_Untie me. Problem solved._

"Oh, _that's _likely." He opened his door and a second later ripped open mine. "Now walk."  
_Where?_

"Toward the trees. If you run, I have permission to kill you."  
_Okay, asshole. _

I stated humming again just to piss him off.

We reached the clearing in the trees eventually, and I sat down on one of the stumps, realizing with a surge of shock where we were now.

It was the clearing in the woods behind La Vie Nocturne.

Oh, awesome memories are attached to that place. I grabbed at my ankle as phantom pain creeped into it.

Iccarius approached me, holding a hand behind his back, and smiling nonchalantly. I didn't trust that look for a second. I backed up, wishing I could curse him out loudly. As it was, there was a strip of fucking Duct Tape in the way.

"You know," He began calmly, "I heard you had an encounter similar to this with our dear dead doctor." I stood on unsteady legs, and Iccarius caught my wrist, pulling the knife from behind his back again. "Consider this his revenge."  
And then before I could react, he slit my throat and I dropped to the ground. He walked to the edge of the clearing before looking back at me.

"Live in fear of your Gods no longer," He said, in a sick repeat of words he'd said two thousand years ago. "You've set us all free, little goddess."


	11. Well, He's No Prince Charming

Spawn woke with a shout, his body shaking and covered with a light sheen of sweat, and it took him a moment to remember what had shocked him into waking up so abruptly.

He'd been having another dream.

The _same _dream.

He shuddered as he thought about it, and then he felt ashamed. He groaned, resting his face against the pillows on his bed as he continued to think about it.  
Something wasn't right...

_No, _He told himself. _This isn't your place to interfere. You let her go. _

That didn't stop the feeling of remorse and what seemed like fear from creeping into his stomach. He'd left her alone for her safety and for the safety of everyone else, but was all really well?  
Maybe he should have kept her with him. He didn't like not knowing if she was alright. If anything were to happen to her now, it would be all his fault.

He raked a hand through his hair, unsettling it, and then he rolled out of bed, making his way towards the door. Ridiculous as it sounded, without Ivory here the house seemed empty, cold, and quiet.

Well, it always had been, but she'd brought a little bit of sunlight along with her. And now that she was gone, the house was quiet again.  
Spawn thought about all that had befallen her while she'd stayed with him. She'd had her ankle broken, was kidnapped by Daimons, was attacked by her son of a bitch ex-husband, and then her nephiew had died. He could still see the look of shocked pain on her face when he'd told her about his death, like her heart had shattered.

And he had forced himself to turn away when she had given him the same look only days later, when he'd told her she had to leave for both their sakes.

He hated the idea of her leaving, but this life was too dangerous for her. Zarek never got her hurt the way he had. Even if he had, Spawn doubted the ex-slave would have actually minded.

But he did. And that was the problem.

One of the rules that Acheron had told to his Hunter bretheren was to never fall in love. He thought he'd never have a problem with that-his own heart had been broken and he'd never want to put another through the heartbreak his wife had gone through. She'd died in his arms, not yet 27. The image would be burned into his head forever.

But Gods, he couldn't ignore Ivory. She was someone that his true love had never been- Vivacious, sarcastic, and with a wit that was razor sharp and as dangerous as any weapon she might choose to weild. She had dark brown curls and eyes the color of a storm, with emotions to match, and when she smiled-

He sighed, realizing the truth about Ivory. She was nothing like anyone else he had ever known. And he was facinated by her; all of her faults, her biting sarcasm, and her beautiful presence.

He was considering his dilema when he looked at the calendar in his kitchen. It had been two days since he'd last seen her.

Maybe, he could stop by Zarek's cabin to see if she was-

No.

Perhaps he could-

No, he shouldn't.

He finally gave in, picking up his phone and dialing in her number. There was a numbing moment of silence before her voicemail answered on her behalf.

"Hey, you've reached Ivory. I'm not here at the moment, but if you could leave a message I'll do my best to-"  
He ended the call, frozen into silence. Why would she not have answered her phone? Was she still angry at him? Could she be dead?  
He tried again, yeilding the same results as before.

"Hey, you've reached-"  
He ended the call again, scrolling through the contacts until he found the very last one, and with only a second of hessitation he clicked the call button. The answer came after about three or four seconds.

"What the hell do _you _want?" Zarek snapped bitingly. Spawn ignored his insolent tone.  
"Is Ivory with you?" He said quickly. "I can't get a hold of her, and..."  
The silence on the other end was deafening, and the fear tightened its grip on his throat.  
"Well?" He prompted. Zarek was quiet for another minute.

"She's here."  
He breathed a sigh of relief and then continued. "Can I speak to her?"  
"No."  
"Why not?" He said angrily. "Is she still mad at me?"  
"That's not it..." Zarek said, almost unconfortable with the subject. He was silent again, and Spawn felt himself slowly losing his patience.

"What is it?" He demanded. "Can she talk?"  
"No."  
"Why?" He pryed. "Is she asleep?"  
There was silence again. "One might say that..." Zarek finally relented. He felt confused and a little irritated and he was tired of his fellow Hunter's games.  
"What is wrong with her?" He demanded loudly. Zarek replied in what could almost be called a somber tone,  
"She's dying, Spawn."  
Spawn almost dropped the phone and he felt all emotion leave him. "What?" He whispered.

"You heard me. Ivory is dying."  
He slammed the phone down and ran upstairs. He opened the blackout curtains on his window for a second and hissed as the last rays of daylight burned his hands, and then he pushed himself back. The full force of Zarek's words hit him. Ivory was dying.

And he was trapped here until the sun went down, over an hour from now.

That hour passed as slowly as a year, and he was sure this was to be used a new torture method sometime in the near future. The gods and the elements were already using it upon him, getting the results he was sure they wanted.

Spawn was agonized and felt the horror of Zarek's words sinking into his heart with each passing second. His fault. Ivory was dying, and if he hadn't abandoned her, if he'd only listened, she'd still be fine...

This was what he got for trying to cheat the Fates, trying to keep her alive even after what the Fates had proclaimed. He thought she'd be fine without him, and look where that got them.

He ached to know what had happened to her. Humans seemed to be so easy to kill. Guns, fire, freezing, starving, being beaten, stabbed- anything could harm and quite possibly kill any human.

It made him dizzy and filled him with pain, the thought of any of these happening to Ivory. Hell, he'd almost killed the doctor when he was applying pressure to her ankle to find the point of breakage, and that was the guy's job.

Well, he killed him later, but that was a different story.

He rested his head in his hands, sighing deeply and pleading with the Gods to let the sun set so he could leave his prison to find her.

_"I'm tired o' living, and scared o' dying."  
_This line from the song Old Man River, from one of my favorite musicals, ran through my head in Paul Robeson's deep baratone voice as I lay in bed. It was a different bed, the bed that was in Zarek's small cabin, a bed which took up most of the room in the small one-room dwelling.

I repeated it alloud, my voice shaky and hessitant, and I was worried for a second that my vocal chords wouldn't work, that Iccarius had wrought damage that my limited powers couldn't repair. I was pleased to find that my saprano chords were still intact, and I finished the song with no problem, my voice reaching the loudest point in the song before Zarek poked his head up from the underground tunnels. I noticed that the stove in the corner of the room had been pushed aside to reveal the mouth of the tunnel.

"Was that you?" He inquired. I rolled my eyes, trying to sit up.

"No, that was my imaginary demon. His name is Francis."  
"That's a girls name."  
"No, it's not."  
"Yes, it is."  
"Fine, _her _name is Francis. Satisfied?"  
He fell silent. "That was you," He finally stated.  
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," I muttered, rolling over on my side away from him. I felt a thick bandage on my throat and I shuddered, closing my eyes.

"Do you sing often?"  
"Yes," I said, almost haughtily. "I was the best singer in my high school in Florida."  
He was silent again, and then I heard the sound of him pulling himself out of the tunnel and then pushing the stove back into place.

"Well, no need to get all self-congratulatory about it," He muttered. I frowned at the wall, not responding for a while.

"Do you have any asprin?" I demanded finally. He was silent again and I heard bottles shifting, something being poured into a glass, and then he sat down on the edge of the bed. I rolled over to see him offering me a cup of something clear that had a suspicious smell, and I glared up at him. "That's not asprin."  
"No, it's not."  
I took it anyway, and when the liquid came in contact with my throat I coughed and spluttered, trying to get the taste of it off my tongue. "What the hell is that?"  
"It's Vodka."  
I used my hand to try and wipe the daste from my taste buds. "No, it's not. Jesus, I've had Vodka. That's not Vodka."  
"Yes, it is. You're just not used to really strong Vodka." He looked down at me. "And you know, kid, you could use some fucking strong booze after what happened to you."  
I watched him for a minute, trying to pry any emotion from his tone and his face, but I could see nothing. I held the cup in two hands like a toddler with a cup of juice, downing the thing and then welcoming the buzz that followed it. I handed the cup to him and he refilled it, and I downed it as well. I looked at the bottle. It was almost half dead. It wouldn't hurt it to have a few more cups...

Five cups later I was feeling giggly and giddy. I really liked this Vodka. I couldn't even feel the pain in my throat anymore. Today was going great!  
"You do have a nice voice," Zarek admitted, pouring himself a cup and topping off mine.  
I hiccuped and then tried to smile at him, laughing when it proved impossible. What he said was surprising, though.

"Thanks," I said warmly. "My sister got the actual art side- you know, paper and pen sketches, landscapes, watercolors, and my half-sister got the rythem and tempo for dancing. I got my mom's voice." I paused, frowning blearily. "Well, not really my mom's. I guess she was my aunt, even though I came from her- nevermind. In any case, I got her voice."

"Do you have any other siblings?" He inquired. I paused, trying to think.  
"Yes. Two other brothers. I had three brothers, but one of them died." I leaned in as though it were a conspiring secret. It really wasn't. Everyone in our family knew, so why shouldn't my boss know. I hiccuped again, glad that this was off my chest and even happier when he poured me more of the drink. "You can't tell anyone, alright?"  
"Who knows about this besides me? Does Spawn?"  
I shook my head wildly. "And you won't tell him, right?" I didn't wait for his response. "You can't tell him or anyone else. Only my parents, Acheron, and now you know."  
"What are your thoughts on the man?" He inquired. I laughed.

"Acheron?" I asked with a smaller, more controlled giggle. "He's cute, I guess."  
"No, not Acheron. Spawn."  
I felt a sobering thought go through my mind, but the alcohol chased it away. "I dunno. He's cute, too."  
"Anything about his personality?"  
"He keeps me safe. I think he might like me. Not love me, mind you," I interupted my words with a hiccup and a giggle, "Just like me. Like a crush, maybe. And I don't know if I like him or not. He kicked me out, you know."  
"What?" He said, looking shocked. "What do you mean?"

"He made me leave, for both our sakes. I think it was because I yelled at him about his wife. I didn't know she existed, but she must have died a long time ago. Maybe it's why he's a hunter." I felt my speech slurring. I blinked to try and regain my train of thought. "Or it might have been about Elsie. She seemed okay to him, but she was flirting with him and I got sorta jealous. Maybe he's scare of commitment, huh?" I laughed at my own words.

"So let me get this straight-you have a crush on a Dark-Hunter?"  
I shook my head. " I dunno if I have a crush on Spawn. Maybe. He's cute, but I don't know..."  
He raised his own cup to me, and I repeated the gesture. He gave a bitter laugh, touching the edge of his glass to mine. "Here's to the only person on earth whose life is more fucked up than mine."  
We were silent after his laughter faded. Then he spoke again a few minutes later.  
"Ivory, was the only reason Iccarius found you because Spawn left you at your hotel?"  
His tone was accusing, and I didn't like that, even in my present state. "Hey, now, I didn't say that. Wasn't his fault. If I hadn't gone with him, he would have killed Spawn. I don't want him to get hurt."  
"He's a hunter. He could have handled anything Iccarius throws at him."  
I shook my head. "Iccarius said he killed all of my other Dark-Hunters because they could protect me and because he was trying to get me stationed near Atlantis."  
"Atlantis?" He remarked in disbelief. I nodded, and then spent nearly ten minutes explaining to him what had happened since I had left, who I was teaming up with against my sister's army, why they wanted me dead, how my visions were killing me, and who was infiltrating my mind. He listened without interruption the whole way through.

"So you're telling me there's an army of undead zombies here to kill you and anyone who helps you, you're teaming up with Spathi Daimons and Stryker to destroy them and your sister, if they kill you the portal to Atlantis will open and your mother will kill the Goddess of Destruction, and that your psycho mother is talking to you in your head?"  
I nodded solemnly, glad that he'd caught up. He took a deep breath and then sighed. "I couldn't have a nice, normal Squire. Oh, no. Gods forbid."  
"Hey!" I snapped. "I don't like this any more than you do."  
"So when exactly is the bloodshed going to begin?"  
I touched the edge of my bandaged throat, feeling another sobering thought in my not-so-clear head. "I think it's already begun."

Spawn was grateful that the night had finally fallen over Alaska, and he drove over to Zarek's cabin in record time and at record speeds, avoiding other cars and human police by taking back roads that were considered dangerous this time of year. Honestly, he didn't care, as long as it took him to Zarek's and took the least ammount of time getting him there.

He killed the engine a few yards from the front door, rushing to it and pounding on it rapidly and repeatedly. Zarek opened it a few seconds later, just as he was pondering knocking on it again.

Zarek contemplated the man before him with scrutinizing eyes. His blond hair was windblown and sticking up in places as though he'd been brushing through it nervously with his fingers. He was about Zarek's height, and closely resembled the Daimons that they both fought on almost a daily basis, with his white-blond hair and the unearthly attractiveness that obviously only women like Sharon and Ivory could appreciate. His eyes were wide and as black as Zarek's, and they held a fear that Zarek could say proudly that his did not. But he knew who this fear was for, and he could almost admire the man for it.

Almost.

As it was, he was pretty pissed that the jerk had abandoned his Squire and almost gotten her killed. She'd been so close to death when Zarek had found her while patrolling the forests around his home almost three days ago. She'd been clinging to life like a fucking rabid dog, unable to die in peace.

He could kill the man for hurting a woman-any woman-like how he'd hurt Ivory.

"I know, I could kill someone like me over it too, but the important thing is that she's alright." He looked into the cabin with fearful eyes. "She _is_ alright, I presume?"  
"She's asleep." _More like passed out. _

"What?" He looked indiginant. "Why is she unconsious?"  
"A bottle and a half of Vodka didn't agree with her."  
Spawn looked furious. "What?" He all but shouted at Zarek. "Why is she _drunk?" _ He snarled the word in Zarek's face._  
_"I feel that self-medication is best when your ex-husband slits your throat and leaves you to die, and when the Dark-Hunter who has promised to keep you safe abandons you." Zarek's words were as cold as his black eyes.

Spawn's features became a face of remorse, and Zarek felt the tiniest twinge of guilt for what he'd said, but it was true. He couldn't care about her if he'd left her alone like that.

"Oh, I care," Spawn muttered. "More than you will ever understand."  
He shot the former Appolite a sharp look. "She's not your Squire, but whatever you're thinking, it's still forbidden."  
Spawn laughed darkly. "And you think I haven't thought about that irritating little fact?"  
Zarek crossed his arms, still blocking Spawn's path, and much to Spawn's irritation, the woman who this trouble was over. No, none of this was her fault. She'd just been dragged into it all.

"Let me see her."  
"Why should I, Daimon?" Zarek snapped. "You almost got her killed. I'm pretty sure you broke her heart, too. What says you won't do it again?"  
"What are you talking about- broke her heart?" The man actually sounded confused.  
"Ivory gets pretty talkative when she's drunk. I asked her about you, and she'd been happy before, but her mood changed. She got quieter, especially when she talked about you kicking her out."  
"You have no clue why that happened. It had nothing to do with you."  
"Oh?" Laughed Zarek. "And who _did _it have to do with? Your fucking wife? Or maybe that Daimon Elsie that she was talking about? I heard she was pretty flirty and Ivory got a little jealous. Is that why you kicked her to the curb, Blondie?"  
"Shut up!" Spawn snarled in his face, and the look he gave Zarek had the other man mentally and physically preparing for a fight. "It's not like that. I care about Ivory more than you could ever know. But if I don't stay away from her, I'm afraid she might-"  
"Might what?"  
"Die."  
Zarek laughed bitterly. "Newflash, buddy, she wasn't in awesome condition when I found her."  
"The Fates deemed that she would die a painful death in battle at the hand of one she hadn't known long but cared for. If the way she acts around me is any indication, I'd say she cares. So if I can stay away from her until this is over, I feel that I can keep her alive."  
"And what if she does die during the battle?" Zarek inquired, and his voice was not prying or cruel, merely questioning.

Spawn looked saddened. "I don't want to consider that."  
"You might have to, some day soon."  
"I know I will. But for tonight, can I just see her?" He looked almost pleading. "I just want to see her, to make sure she's safe myself."  
Zarek studied him for another second, considered saying things that might have gotten him in trouble, and then eventually he moved aside to let Spawn into the cabin. The ex-appolite wasted no time in rushing to Ivory's side, sitting down on the edge of the bed beside her with his face a mask of worry and fear.

There was silence until Ivory coughed, clearing her throat, and Zarek could tell from where he was standing that she'd awoken and was looking at the man.

"Spawn?" She whispered, her voice little more than silent. It was shaky with disbelief and confusion, and for that Zarek didn't blame her. He was pretty confused himself.

"It's me, Ivy. Are you alright?" He pulled her up gently into his arms, and Ivory caught Zarek's eye. Poor girl. He may not want anything to do with her and her freaky life, but she'd had a rough time these past few days.

She gave him a soft smile and then looked back to Spawn. "I've been better." The affects of her drinking seemed almost gone, wiped away by the appearance of the other Dark-Hunter. "How are you? Are you okay?" Her voice was actually filled with as much worry as his had been, maybe a bit more.  
"I'm fine," He laughed softly, almost through tears. "Oh, God, Ivy, I'm so sorry I got you into this. It was my fault for leaving you alone. I thought you'd be able to-no, never mind. I hoped you'd be able to be safe without me in your life."  
"But now we see that's not the case," She said solemnly, watching him with blue-grey eyes that were clouded with what might have been fear.

"No, it's not. I still think you'd be far safer with someone else, but if you still want me to, I'll be there to protect you." He brushed the hair back from her forehead and then leaned down to rest his lips against it, holding her close. Zarek turned away, not wanting to intrude on what seemed like something he shouldn't have seen.

"Zarek," Ivory said quietly about a minute later. He wheeled around again to face her, and was surprised to see her standing in the middle of the cabin in the black jeans and black long sleeved tee shirt she'd been wearing when he found her. Her jacket had been discarded because of the blood stains no ammount of Clorox would ever remove. The bandage was obtrusive and out of place against her stark skin, but her blue-grey eyes glowed, framed with light brown lashes, and her expression was sweet.

She walked over to his side and pulled him close to her in a tight, friendly embrace, whispering in his ear, "Thank you for saving my life. I don't think I could ever repay you."

"It was nothing," He said gruffly, crossing his arms when she released him, looking down at his feet. She touched his chin, making him look to her.

"Don't say that. For all your faults, you're a good man, Zarek." She quickly hugged him again and then looked to Spawn, who'd watched the ordeal from the bed with silent indifference.

"Can we go home now?"  
He nodded and pulled off his jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders when he reached her. She smiled up at him with an emotion on her fine features that Zarek had read about in books but never actually seen in real life.

"The car's unlocked, Ivory, I'll be out in just a second. I just need to have a word with Zarek." Ivory shot an uneasy glance between the men, and then he smiled to her again. Zarek couldn't manage a smile, not even on the behalf of the girl whose life he had saved.

"I hear a fight and I'll come in hear and kick both of your asses, injured or not," She warned, and then Zarek cracked a smile. Spawn shook his head and rolled his eyes, smile still in place. She shot them both suspicious glances before she shut the door and made her way to the car.

Zarek was silent for a moment, not really knowing what to say to this man.

"You saved her life when I wasn't there for her."

It wasn't accusing, it wasn't a question, and it didn't seem as though Spawn was feeling particularly guilty about it. He merely seemed confused and mystefied. "Why?" He shook his head. "I thought you two didn't get along."  
"That doesn't mean I'd leave her to die in the snow," Zarek snapped. "I'm unstable, yeah, but I wouldn't murder someone like her just for spite. Besides, I wouldn't deny anyone-not even you- the happiness that I don't have. I'm not _that _cruel."  
Spawn was silent, and then he extended a hand. "I owe you for this, Zarek. Thank you."  
Zarek ignored his hand. "Go. She needs to get some rest and then once the wound heals a bit more you should take her to the hospital to have them check it out to make sure it's not infected. But most of all, she needs peace and quiet and she needs to stay off her feet for a couple of days. And by the way, if you abandon her again, code or no code, I'm going to fucking kill you."  
"I wouldn't object to you killing me under those circumstances, especially if I ever let her go again." He smiled to Zarek faintly. "Goodbye, and thank you again."

"I would say anytime, but I'm hoping I won't have to do that again."  
Spawn nodded to him, and then he left the ex-slave alone.

We were silent for a while as Spawn sped along the dark roads, and then I asked hesitantly, "Are you sure I should be with you?"  
He looked over at me in surprise. "What do you mean?"  
"Is it safe?" I frowned. "You told me that I was distracting you from helping other people. Maybe you should have just left me at Zarek's."  
He looked over to me with remorse in his black eyes. "Well, at least when you _were _with me you didn't have attempts made on your life on a daily basis. If that means that I have to devote some more time to you as opposed to other people for a while, then so be it."  
I smiled at his last sentance and I reached out to take his hand. We fell silent again, and then I spoke up, "How did you know I was there?"  
"I didn't, at first," He admitted, not taking his eyes from the road. "I called your phone and you didn't answer, and then I called him."  
I didn't really know what to say. "Why did you care?" I asked quietly. "You left me."  
"I made a mistake. We all do, sometimes. I realized that it was a mistake and then I tried to find you."

"What made you think something like that?" I inquired with a frown. He looked over at me, shaking his head.

"I don't really want to talk about it, alright?"  
"Alright. By the way, how long was I out?"  
"Two days or so."  
"Two days?" I cried.

"That's what I said."  
"Jesus! I didn't know it was that bad of a wound!"  
He gave me a small frown. "Ivory, your throat was cut. You almost _died_. That's a pretty bad wound, in my book."  
"I need to get back to the camp, though-I need to train, I still have so much to learn..."  
He laughed gently. "Ivory. We have time."  
"Easy for you to say. You're immortal."  
"That is true. Well, you have time still. It's not as if the army is breaking down your doors."  
"No, they're buring my locks and kidnapping me, then slicing my throat behind Daimon clubs," I retorted. He growled low in his throat.

"I thought we killed that son of a bitch."  
"So did I. We thought wrong, Lucy."  
He eventually parked the car beside his home, letting go of his grip on my hand. I ran up the stairs behind him through the tall snow, stumbling over my feet a bit and feeling slightly dizzy. The buzz from my drinking was gone, and I hoped I wouldn't have a hangover from hell tomorrow.  
"If you do, it's all Zarek's fault," Spawn muttered, searching for his keys. I rolled my eyes.

"No, if I do, it's because I asked for asprin and got something a little stronger instead."  
"I think you should go in and go to sleep. You can sleep off the hangover and the fatal wound in your neck."  
"Hey, it's not fatal anymore, and I told you, I'm not hungover."  
I tried to think about what Zarek and I had been talking about while I was a bit intoxicated. I vaguely remembered talking about Acheron, and my crush, and...

...Oh. God. I needed to stop thinking about that, or-  
I froze and then saw Spawn standing in the doorway, the door open and the lights in the foyer lit dimly as to not hurt his eyes. As it was, I had to almost squint with my stupid human eyes to see his features. He was smirking.  
"Who is it?" He smiled.  
"Who is what?" I inquired innocently. He smiled, taking me by the hand to pull me inside the house. I let go of his hand soon after, feeling my headache throbbing in my ears.

"Your crush," He laughed, "You know, that sort of makes you sound a bit immature. Saying it like that."  
"Oh, who cares." I yawned, rubbing my hands over my eyes. "And I'm not going to tell you." I fell silent for a minute or so. "Hey, Spawn?" I asked quietly.

He looked up. "What?"  
"Why did you have a female Squire?" I was still a little confused on the subject. I mean, I knew how Zarek got _his _female Squire, but I was a little confused. "Aren't they supposed to be a gender _other _than the one that the Dark-Hunter is attracted to...?"  
He laughed quietly, sitting down on one of the leather couches in the living room. I accompanied him and sat on the edge of said couch, sort of worried about what he might say next.  
"I didn't really explain that situation well enough. Georgia was not really a Squire- but I wasn't given the choice of one like most Dark-Hunters were. She was just like Sharon is to Zarek- A human, someone to talk to and to run errands for me during daylight, someone who couldn't know anything about me but that I was independantly wealthy and was willing to help her and her family." He smiled faintly, and then I nodded.

"And were you ever..." I couldn't say it, so I thought it instead. He shook his head.

"No. I wouldn't have wanted to deal with the complications of something like that."  
"And you're sure she wasn't Appolite, or something that _could _have been turned into a freaky zombie thing?"  
He nodded. "I would have known."  
"Then I wonder why..." I trailed off, looking away, out the window into the distance.

"You wonder why what?"  
"I wonder why Nikitas was fine drinking my blood."  
"You let him drink your blood?" His voice was sharp.  
"Yes."  
"Jesus Christ, Ivy, if he had actually been an Appolite, doing that could have killed him!" He sounded angry, and I felt my eyes go wide.

"It could have?"

"Yes, it could have!"  
"Oh...I didn't know..."  
"How could you _not _know something like that?" He raised his hands, giving me an irritated look. "You're a Squire!"  
"Hey, _I_'_'m _not the one with the copy of the handbook, buddy, and I'm in no place to know about the interworkings of Daimons. I haven't even been a Squire for that long."  
"How long have you been a Squire?" He snapped. I glared at him.

"Almost two years."  
"Two years- That's pleanty of time to learn about _what we're supposed to be fighting!" _I stood up, crossing my arms and glaring at him.

"I _know _how to fight them. I don't go around learning about their culture. What difference would my blood make, anyways?"  
"You're a goddess, aren't you?"

"I suppose so. I mean, my mom is an Atlantean goddess- not my real mother, my mother from a past life- and I suppose I might have retained some of her powers. But in this body, I bleed blood, not ichor."  
He raised an eyebrow. "I don't know if ichor would kill him, but all I know is that feeding from a Daimon before you were 27 would automatically turn you. I don't know if the same would go for humans, especially ones with such ties to the Gods such as you."  
"I'm not the one tied to them, buddy, that's Ebony. And none of this makes a difference." I wasn't going to let him see me cry, not now. "He's still dead."  
Spawn sighed, stading up and taking me into his arms. "Sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."  
"I'm alright. Not upset. I was just stating a fact. He _is _dead."  
"I know, but we don't need to talk about it."  
"How else am I going to get over what happened to him?"

"You could talk about something else and ignore the pain."  
"Spoken like a true man," I said, rolling my eyes. He laughed, sitting back down, and I sat on the other side of the couch. He pulled me close again and my head rested on his chest.

"Ivory?" He asked quietly. I looked up at him, and he brushed my hair back from my eyes again, running a hand down my cheek to my chin. "You said you've been a Squire for two years- how old are you, anyway?"  
I sighed. "Twenty one. Almost twenty two. I've told people diferent things, but I know for a fact I'm almost twenty two."  
"Why do you tell people other things?" He seemed a bit confused, and I smiled.

"Well, I don't like telling everyone in the world everything about me. If I lie about some things to some poeple some times, I don't think I'll go to hell over it."  
"So why are you telling me?"  
I shrugged. "I have the feeling you wouldn't try to hurt me or use me. I try to stay honest with those kinds of people. Zarek, Sharon, Jen, so on and so forth. Every so often, though, I'll get a bad feeling about someone and lie about myself to them. Especially about my age when I think that they'll try to hit on me or ask me out." I smiled. "When I was younger, like sixteen, my older brother and I were in Miami and these morons kept hitting on me and being assholes. When we ran into them at a stoplight and they started again, I burst into fake tears and my brother yelled at them for scaring his eleven year old daughter."  
"Did you actually look eleven?" He asked, laughing.  
"No, and that's what made it so funny. The looks on their faces was priceless." I paused. "And on the subject of lying to people I could never trust, my mom used to tell me to do the same. If someone made me nervous or seemed suspicious to me, and tried to talk to me, I was to give them a completely factual name, age, everything."  
"Why would she make you do something like that?" He inquired.

"Well, I never really understood it, but I think I know why now. My sister seems to know everyone-Iccarius, that doctor who tried to kill me, and I think she might even know Stryker. I know she has connections, and I have the feeling she wouldn't hessitate to sacrifice me or anyone else in my family to get what she wants. I think I was safer as a little girl when she had no clue where I was and anyone she sent after me was given a false story and quickly disposed of."

"So you sort of lived in what could be described as a warped witness protection where everyone who asked about you was given a different story?"  
"Yes. I hadn't really realized it until I think about it now, but that is the reason lies are hard wired in my brain. I just thought my mom lied about me and my sisters to every one because she was weird."  
"But now you know it's because you were being tracked by an army of the undead led by your vengeful twin sister?"  
"Yes."  
"Why does she want to kill you, anyway?" He asked. "What are her motives?"  
"I think it might have to do with releasing out mother and ruling over the post apocolyptic earth with my ex at her side. But that's just a guess."  
"Oh." He held me tightly. "I'm sorry."  
"For what?"

"That you were hunted mercilessly by your evil twin and you didn't even know it at the time and that you had a sick, warped lie for a childhood."  
"Hey, my life wasn't all that bad," I smiled. "I had some good times, too, and not all of it was a lie. Only what people outside of the family and outside of a small circle of friends knew about my age, name, and life."

"I would have felt so alone."  
"I would have, too, if I hadn't had my siiblings and my parents and close friends. Besides, I wasn't exactly a social butterfly as a child. I kept to myself and read." I smiled.

"No, I don't see you as being a 'social butterly' either." He laughed. "But to have a childhood with so many lies- it must have been terrible." I shrugged.

"It was only terrible when I found out _why _I was lied about and what was at risk if they didn't lie about me. When I found out my life was in danger over it, then it was bad. Like I said, I just thought my mom was weird. When I was really little, I thought it was like a game of pretend. I hated not using my name though. I found it was a blessing when I got older." I laughed.

"Why?"  
"I hate my name."  
"What's wrong with 'Ivory'?" He inquired. "It's pretty."  
"Thank you, but that's not all." I sighed, actually struggling to remember the name that my parents had given me in a moment of pure cruelty. " Ivory Emerald Scarlet Violet Verde Sunlight Saint-John."  
He gaped at me and then laughed quietly. "If your parents wanted you to blend in so badly, why did they give you such an ostentacious name?"  
"Like I said- no one outside of the family _ever _heard it, except for my dad's Dark-Hunters and most of the Squires. I didn't even tell it to people at school. They called me Rainbow-Kid when I was little." I shuddered, and then I glared at the ground. "I hate my name. So much."  
"I think it's nice," He said, and I looked up to see him smiling, apparently not lying. "It doesn't suit you, no, but it's nice."  
"My parents said someone with such a history deserved happiness and color in her life." I glared back at the ground again. "I didn't understand it then, but once again, I can understand it now."  
"What about your siblings?" He asked. "Were they lied about, too?"

"I'm not sure about my brothers, but once when my mother, younger sister and I were out shopping, someone asked my mother about us. She just smiled and then told him that we were her brother's twin daughters, Bryn and Jessica. A few days after that, she sent my sister to live with family in Virginia, and I haven't seen her since. We talk on the phone sometimes, but not often." I frowned, thinking. "Come to think of it, that was only a few weeks before our house burned down and we had to leave the state."

"And I'm guessing Ebony had something to do with it?" I shrugged.

"Probably."

"I'll stop her," He told me. "Before she hurts you again. I promise I'll stop her."  
"That's a nice thought," I murmured, "But I want to take her down myself to make her pay for what she's put me through these past few days, and what she's put me through my whole life."  
"I'll help you."  
"Just keep her army from killing me before I can finish the job. That's all the help I need." I closed my eyes, and then before I could speak again I had fallen into a deem sleep, curled up against him and feeling very safe indeed.

Spawn watched her sleep, barely daring to breathe because it might disturb her slumber. One of his arms was draped over her stomach and her breath was cool on his skin. She pressed her cheek into his throat as she murmured something in her sleep.

Okay, so disrupting her sleep wasn't the only reason he was finding it hard to breathe. He sort of couldn't, at this point. He just couldn't believe she was really here.

Hours ago he'd been told she was going to die, and now...

She was here again. In his arms again.

Jesus, call it a Hallmark moment, but it was too good to be true. Nothing had ever been this peaceful for him.

How he hated to have to interrupt it, but he had to. With a sigh of irritation, he leaned down to kiss her hair before he gently rolled her off of him, onto the couch. Spawn looked back at her for a second, at her peaceful, sleepy smile and the delicate hand that lay on the couch by her face.

And he saw the large bandage that was bulky against her small throat, a constant reminder about his mistakes.

He turned away, toward the garage where most of his weapons were. He had about eight hours until daylight.  
He was going to find the man who had did that to her, and by the Gods, he was going to make that coward pay.


	12. And The Murder Train Keeps On Rolling

When I awoke, the sky outside was dark, the stars and the nearly-full moon shining in through the living room's window. The night was clear and there was a fresh layer of snow on the ground.

It took me a full minute of looking around and holding my breath to realize what had happened over the last three days and where I was now. I'd nearly been murdered, and I had spent the last few days comatose (And then drunk) at Zarek's home. God, my head was killing me.  
Spawn was right- even though I had felt the effects of the alcohol wearing off and I stopped saying stupid things by the time we'd returned to his house, I still had to endure a hangover the next day. Night. Whatever time it was.

I looked at the clock. It was almost 5:00 AM. Had Spawn gone upstairs? If so, why the hell was I still in the living room?

I sat up and stretched, feeling pain in my back from resting at an odd angle on the couch. I winced, remembering that I _had _said some stupid things last night after we'd gotten back.  
I had told Spawn about all of the lies my 'mother' and I had told over my lifetime. But hey, I had to tell someone, and Spawn seemed like the best candidate, especially since my life was unraveling and he was one of the only people who wasn't trying to murder me or lie to me in return.

I still remembered my mother explaining to me why she lied on my behalf, and the answer had worried me, even then. She had leaned down to my six year old level, smiling to me with large, frightened looking grey eyes when I'd asked her why she'd lied about me, again.

_"Honey, don't you like games of pretend?" Another nervous smile as she brushed back my bangs and put shaking hands on my shoulders. "It's just like a game. If anyone asks, make something up about yourself, but make them believe it. And if they don't listen," She reached under my collar and took out the coin I'd worn since my papa had brought it back from Greece, "Just show them this and say you're protected. And if that doesn't work..."  
Her eyes grew distant, and I heard her murmur a name under her breath.  
"Who's Ebony?" I asked incredulously, curling my lip. "I don't like that name. Does she scare you?"  
"Why would you say that?" Laughed my mother, who looked like she was falling apart. I frowned at her. _

_"I can feel it," I told her. She looked even more nervous after I had spoken, and I regretted my words. "Sorry, mommy, you told me not to use that, but I can't help it, sometimes I hear things and-"  
"Don't apologize, imora," She whispered, holding me against her. "Just be careful. You never know who could be listening."  
_Ah. So that was why the Atlantean endearment had sounded so familiar to me. Yes, vaguely I remembered being called this by both of my parents and even by my little sister for most of my childhood.

I closed my eyes. I hated thinking about what my childhood had been. It had been weirdness and lies. My brothers and my sister hadn't been through what I had, at least Kaitly hadn't had such a rough time. She'd been lied about, but at least she didn't get the looks of worry and fear from out mother and father like I had. And I knew why I had now.  
I was a destructive force. I should just end it now and make them all deal with the consiquences, the fall out-

_Yes. Imora. Destroy them all and set me free. Destroy Strykerius, Apostolos, and everyone who has ever wronged you._

_"_Stay out of this."

_But my dearest little-_

"Your other daughter is the reason I had to lie about my childhood. Who the hell are you backing nowadays?"  
_My children.  
_"Both of us?"  
_Whoever has my favor, who sacrifices the most for me.  
_"You mean like-"  
_I am speaking withing the terms of a blood sacrifice, yes. _I frowned.

"Well, I just had my _throat slit _in your name, so does that mean you're backing me?"  
_Not necessarily. _

I froze, speaking aloud slowly and softly. "What do you mean? My blood was spilled. In your name."  
_By whom?_

"Iccarius," I replied slowly.

_And whose path does he follow?  
_"Ebony," I whispered.  
_Precisely._

"So you're spying for them?" I gasped. "Is that how Iccarius knew about Spawn and I? And how to find me at the hotel?"  
_I spy for no man. _

"Funny," I muttered, making my way into the kitchen. "Ebony isn't a man."  
_If you wish to earn my favor, make a blood sacrifice.  
_"I don't need your fucking help," I hissed angrily. "I owe nothing to you."  
_Nothing but life._

_"_Nothing but pain!" I countered. I almost heard a sigh from the back of my mind. "You got me into this mess. Why couldn't I have just been born into a nice, normal family?"  
_You were. And then my wretched sister stole you away from us and forced you into lies. She stole you from me, all of your sisters, and-_

"Wait. Wait wait wait wait _wait. _All of my sisters?" I took a second to think. "As in more than one?"  
_One was reborn into a human state along side you. She volunteered to do so to keep you safe, and then my sister sent her away.  
"Kaitly?" _I cried, rushing to look for my phone. "I am going to call her to ask her to back up your story. I think you're full of bullshit."  
_She doesn't remember. She was forced to promise to relinquish all memories of Olympus and Atlantis to accompany you._

"Why the _hell _would she do that?" I cried.  
_Ebony would have killed her, and your other sisters.  
_"How many." My voice was quiet and deadly.

_Five in all. Lilith, Kaitly, Taria, and of course you and your sister. Lilith is oldest. You were the youngest._

"What happened to them after I died?"  
_Lilith was thrown to earth as well. She was murdered as a Roman princess some time after you. Taria disappeared, and none of her line are known to have survived. Kaitly, of course, followed you into the next life, and you know that Ebony was chained in Olympus up until recently._

"Until recently?" I cried. "She's free?"  
"Who's free?" Inquired a voice fro behind me. I looked behind to see Spawn walking in the front door. "I had to go on patrol for a while, sorry. Who are you talking to?"  
_Mom, _I mouthed. He nodded in understanding, and walked upstairs, giving me privacy.

_I thought you knew._

"Well, no, I thought she was giving orders from...Oh, shit, shit, shit. She knows where I am, doesn't she?"  
_Of course. Who do you think liberated Iccarius from his wood shed prison, who do you think awakened him in the first place for battle?  
_It sickened me to think of Ebony being that close to Spawn. She could have hurt him in any way, could have even killed him. No, I'd kill her before she thought of something like that.

_By the way;_

"What?" I snapped angrily. She seemed taken aback.

_I restored most of Ebony's powers for the upcoming battle. I pride myself upon being a goddess of fairness, so I will restore yours as well. _

"No, Aria, I-"  
Apparently 'no' wasn't in my mother's vocabulary, though, because at that moment I felt a hot shock run through my veins, encasing me with a glow that would blind a human. I threw my head back and screamed bloody fucking murder from the pain of it, and I felt the shock travel up my bones to my skull.

Then it knocked my lights out.

Spawn jumped when he heard the inhuman shriek from downstairs. He ran for the door and was at the head of the stairs when he caught sight of Ivory's body in the living room, sprawled out by the couch.  
"Holy shit!" He cursed loudly, running down the stairs three at a time. "Ivory! Are you okay?"  
Of course she wasn't. She was fucking unconsious.

He reached her body and saw blood dripping from her mouth, her eyes closed and her mouth forming words in a language too old for either of them to really understand. He shook her shoulders, trying to rouse her, but to o avail.

Spawn was panicking, checking for a heartbeat, when her eyes fluttered open again and she pinned him with a gaze that almost stopped his own heart.

Her eyes were black, rimmed with a deep bloody red.

~*~  
I was confused when Spawn gave me a look of shock and almost disgust as he let go of me, letting me fall back onto the floor. I gave him my worst glare in return, standing.

"Well, that wasn't very nice. Why'd you-"  
"Your eyes. They're..." He seemed at a loss for words, and so I turned around to look into the mirror by the door. I looked back at him, at the verge of a breakdown, a scream on my lips.

"Fuck!"  
"Uh, not my first choice of words, but whatever. What the hell happened?"  
I touched my face again, feeling the electrical current that surged under my skin, and I looked up at him with rage on my face. "My mother. _That's_ what happened."  
"Did she..." He looked worried and then angry. "Did she come here? Did she hurt you?"  
"No and yes, I guess. She..." I closed my eyes, not wanting to be faced with this reality again. "She restored my goddess powers." He fell silent for a minute and then he spoke again.  
"Well." His voice was short and sharp. "There's no reason for you to stay if you're a goddess and you can defend yourself."  
"Fuck that," I said, crossing my arms and opening my eyes to glare at him. "I'm not going anywhere."  
"Why?" He snapped. "You're a goddess now, you don't need a lowly Dark-Hunter to protect you. Your kind us supposed to hate us."  
I walked over so that I hatd to crane my neck to look into his eyes. "I'm not asking a _lowly _Dark-Hunter to protect me. I'm asking you." I meant for it to sound sort of sweet, but the fact that I yelled it and poked him roughly in the chest might have defeated the whole 'nice' effect.

"Why are you asking _me _of all people?" He demanded, grabbing my shoulders and pulling me closer to him. I forced myself to keep eye contact with him, even though I was pretty sure my black-red eyes disgusted him.

"Because I trust you."  
"Well, that's your problem."  
"Are you going to kick me out?" I inquired softly, my eyes pleading to him. He sighed, turning away, wandering into the kitchen.

"You shouldn't have come here in the first place," He called to me. I sighed.

"So what?" I followed him, sitting down in one of the chairs at he table. "I'm here anyway. Don't try and kick me out."  
"Well, now I know I can't. By the way, we're breaking all of the rules of contuct by keeping you here."  
"So?" I muttered. "Not like I've _never _broken the rules before. No one will care."  
"Right. Because I hear that the Olympians are really lax on their 'goddesses being involved with the damned' policies."

"Who's going to tell?" I asked, my eyes on him as he began a pot of coffee.

"Certainly not me." I gasped, turing at the sound of the light voice, thinking it might have been my mother.

I released my breath when I spied Aphrodite standing in the doorway in a light blue gown, her hair down around her slim shoulders and everything about her seeming strange in this place. She kept her gaze on me, but I saw her eyes flicker to Spawn for less than a second.

"Hunter. Leave."  
"No," He said indiginantly. "I don't know what you're going to do to her, _goddess_."  
She shot him a withering look that was at odds with her beauty. "Leave before I shoot you with a bolt. I don't want to upset Ivory, but if I must, I will."  
"Spawn," I hissed under my breath. "Other room. Now."  
"Could he possibly step outside?" She asked innocently, and I frowned out the window.  
"It's almost dawn."  
"Exactly."  
Spawn growled low in his throat, stepping forward, but I walked over to him and glared up at him with my new eyes. "Oh, just go upstairs. Get some rest."  
"I don't trust her," He whispered to me, damn well aware that she could hear him. I pushed him lightly, shaking my head, and then I pulled myself up onto my tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. He shot her one last warning glance before he was gone.

"You two..." She trailed off, looking out the window and shaking her head. "You shouldn't be together. It's dangerous for you both."  
"We're not _together, _we're just..." I frowned. "Well, I don't really know what we are."

"I do," She taunted. I glowered at her.

"Fine, O Goddess of love. What _are _we?" She shook her head, smiling softly and taking a seat at the table.

"Hm. We had a situation like this a while ago...Well, you haven't been stolen, but there's a war and it's been caused by a woman's beauty and the jealous nature of men. And people are going to die. Just some advice, don't let the other side give you any gifts."  
"Too late," I muttered, pointing to my eyes. She frowned.

"Did Aria actually give you back all of your powers?"  
"I don't think all of them. It happened about five minutes ago, so I've yet to try out my powers."  
"You should try them. You might have some pretty cool stuff." I paused, thinking of my response.

"Aphrodite, I have to ask you something." She nodded and I continued, "I stopped having my sister's visions after I spoke to you, but that was the same time that my mother wormed her way into my mind. Did you have something to do with it?"  
"I put up a barrier between your mind and your sister's, yes, but the human psyche is a fragile one, and when I put up the block between you and Ebony another floodgate between you and your mother opened. I suppose most of this could be blamed upon me." Her tone said that it could in fact be blamed upon her, but that I'd have to be really fucking stupid to try to actually blame her.

"Well, I listened to her and I trusted her, so most of it was my fault." She gave me a smile and ran a smooth hand across my cheek with a warm nod.

"She's your mother. You had no reason not to trust her. She's vindicive and she does whatever she wants to get whatever she wants." She frowned, pulling back her hand and looking at me. "Do you know if you can hide your eye's color?"

"I don't know," I admitted, looking down and wishing with all my heart that I could hide them, that I could forget about the look of shock and almost fear on Spawn's fine features as he had recoiled from my new, horrible eyes. I closed my eyes and sighed deeply, opening them again. "Are they gone?"

She frowned, shaking her head, and then she closed my eyes gently with her fingertips, murmuring something I couldn't understand. I opened my eyes again and her frown faded.

"There. All better." She sounded like a mother talking to a young child, and I returned to the mirror I'd seen my eyes in only moments ago, black rimmed with a deep, bloody red, and realized that they had indeed faded back to the grey-blue they'd been before. "But I'm warning you, get angry and the color's going to come right back."  
"Why angry?"  
"It's not my element. I'm not good at contoling it. Get too riled and nothing I could possibly do will hide your identity from those who would do you harm." She floated in from the kitchen and stoood behind me, adjusting her hair in the mirror.

"So, do I still have my powers?"  
"Most of them, yes. I can hide the really powerful ones, but like I said, only until you really snap." She hugged one of my shoulders affectionately. "Oh, Cuz, you'll be okay. I mean, so you're in one of those relationships that's never going to work, like, ever, and your sister's going to try and murder you. At least you're still pretty."

"Thanks," I told her uncertainly, and she nodded, dissapearing once more into the cool, sweet Mediteranian breeze that swept over my skin and into the Alaskan night.

I shivered, running my hands over my arms to try and generate warmth, and then I leaned into the mirror again, examining my eyes. They appeared the same, but I was still frightened over the whole expearience of having the eyes of a demon.

I shuddered at the thought of my new eyes, feeling fear creep into my heart. I would be the first to admit that I wasn't amazing at keeping my temper in cheek, and this would certainly be a lesson in doing so.

I crossed the room to see if the coffee was ready yet, and I found it still brewing. With a deep sigh I wandered into the living room, flipping on the TV and laying down on one of the couches. I still felt exhausted, like my eyelids were lead, and I laid my head back, closing my eyes. Sleeping for five minutes wouldn't hurt me, I thought.

My eyes snapped open after what appeared to be five minutes, but couldn't have been because now the moon and stars were gone from the sky and the sun was casting short shadows across the white snow. I yarned, stretching and looking up at the clock. Damn. It was nine o'clock already?  
Yes, I realized as I turned on the morning news. Nine o'clock, and while most people were worrying about getting their kids to school or getting to work on time, I was worrying about having goddess powers restored to me and the fate of the world. Lucky me.

I stood wearily, ignoring the boring stories of the news for the computer. I typed in my e-mail's password and poured myself more coffee while I waited for the page to load. I found one new e-mail, from the same address as before. Sighing in disgust, I opened it and took a sip of my coffee.

Then I promptly spit it out again.

Because there were more photos.

In these, though, the subject wasn't me.

The subjects were my younger brothers and my two older brothers.

And their unmoving, blank-faced, bloodied corpses sprawled out across the floor of our condo in Florida.

I jumped out of my seat, screaming bloody murder and slamming shut the computer's screen to try and erase the images from my mind's eye. I still saw the corpse of my littlest brother, though, even with my eyes closed, saw the bloodied tear in his throat from what had obviously been a Daimon attack. I continued shrieking, running up the stairs to the door at the end of the hallway that I assumed was Spawn's bedroom door.

When he opened it and looked to me with confusion, I continued to scream and grabbed his arm, dragging him down the stairs toward the computer. I opened the computer and it flashed to my e-mail, the photos visible once more on the fifteen inch screen.  
I turned away as he studied them. Then he looked at me, his face blank and a little confused. "Is that...?" He began, and I nodded, feeling my eyes filling with tears. I closed them again, not wanting to let him see me cry again.

I felt a hand gently pull me closer to him and then I colapsed against him, sobbing full-force and hiding my face in his chest, my whole body shaking.

"Why?" I whispered, keeping my eyes closed. "Why would they do something like that?"  
"Because they're evil, Ivy," He said sadly. "That's what they do."  
"I- I hate them!" I spluttered, crying and feeling so very helpless. "I want them all to _die!_"  
"If I can help it, they will," He assured me softly, keeping a tight grip on my body. I held him close, crying out of anger, fear, and sadness. I would have to call Jen later to see if it was true. Gods, I hoped it wasn't, but somewhere deep inside I knew the truth. My family-the only remaining family, spare Kaitly- was dead.

And now I was alone in the world.

Shuddering and not wanting to think of this as a possibility, I freed myself from his arms and scrolled down the e-mail, past the gruesome photographs and to the message below them.

Hunter-

Why, are you reading dear Ivory's e-mails now? Goodness, I hope she trust you more than you can trust her.

She's dead now, though, so I suppose things like that don't matter anymore.

I hope you realize that this destruction all has happened because you would not hand her over when she was supposed to die. I also hope that the sounds of her little brother's dying screams haunt your nightmares along with the feeling of helplessness she must have felt when she died alone in the forest, screaming for someone to help her. Did you remember your poor wife thinking about Ivory's death? Your sweet, beautiful children?  
However, you must know that since her death apparently didn't unleash Aria and lead to the destruction of Earth, the battle shall continue. I wonder how long your oh-so powerful Daimons will last against the beings that can't die.  
Speaking of the Daimons...What will Acheron do when he realizes you've allied yourself with our worst enemies?

Being of enemy blood, you're on shaky ground as is, and this is merely fueling the fires.

Pleasant dreams, hunter. We're waiting for you.

Iccarius of Athens

P.s. Next time you try to find me, try not to look in places as generic as the damned Daimon bar. Really? You think me that plebiean?

I realized that Spawn was reading over my shoulder and at the mention of his wife and children he froze, his hand clutching the edge of the table. I didn't bother to look up as I grabbed my coffee cup again and pulled my cell phone out of my pocket.

"Jen?" I asked when someone finally answered.

"Jeez, Ivory, long time no see. What's going on? Are you okay? Do you have the Appolite kid with you?"  
"I'm fine, and-" I took a deep breath, not wanting to ask my next question. "Are my brothers all right? Did anything-"  
"They're fine, Ivory. Todd just stopped by a few hours ago, actually, and he asked if I'd talked to you. Why?"  
I felt shock surge through my system. "Oh, thank god. Um, I don't have any time to explain, but I just wanted to make sure they're okay. Are you sure they're fine?"  
"Yes. What is this about?"  
"I don't have any time to explain, but I'll call you as soon as I can with more details."  
"Wait, I-"  
She couldn't finish her sentance, though, because I ended the call and then looked up at Spawn with wide eyes.

"She says they're absolutely fine. My family isn't dead," I laughed quietly and with deep relief, wiping my eyes and then walking back to the computer. My e-mail light was flashing again, and I took a seat in front of the keyboard. Spawn pulled up a chair beside me to read over my shoulder once more. "I wonder why someone would lie about something as serious as that," I muttered under my breath as I opened the e-mail.

My breath caught in my throat as I realized again whose e-mail it had originated from, and Spawn must have noticed, because he laced his fingers through mine and held onto my hand tightly, reassuringly.

Ivory-

What a relief to title a letter to you once more. I knew that only your family's safety could draw you from hiding, and I knew that once you recieved my first e-mail it would only be a matter of time before you called.

Did you like my bargaining chip? Your loved ones- Gods, I feel like a villain from a 'comic book'.

However, the fact that you are still living is no laughing matter. I will have to fix that problem as soon as possible, and now that you have your powers back it might prove more difficult, though not impossible. Your nobility has always proved your downfall, my darling.

It would be wisest for everyone if you just gave up now and came quietly. It would cause the least bloodshed on either of our sides, and dying for a cause would be a first for you, right?

And remember- if we can fake something like the murders of your family, it will only be a matter of time before we actually commit the very acts we fabricate.  
The choice is yours- your hunter, your family, or your life. Choose wisely.

By the way, I choose to end this the same way I ended the letter to your darling 'boy toy' the Hunter- We're waiting for you.

Don't forget what you were created to become. You're a weapon of mass destruction, bred to be the destruction of entire worlds. Live up to your potential, Ivory.

Alas, this is all the time I have to write to you today. I bid you adeu, for now.

Iccarius of Athens.

My heart wouldn't start again, no matter how hard I tried. No. It couldn't have been, but then again it seemed so obvious. I'd been set up. Which meant that my family still lived, but I was going to have to get them out of the Miami area if I wanted to keep them that way.

It also meant that Jen...

Gods, I didn't want to think about that. I was hurt so deeply by what she must have done. My best friend, my most trusted friend, working with the enemies.

It sickened me.

I felt Spawn's arms around me and I turned away from the computer again. "This is just a game to them," I murmured softly. "Sooner or later I'm going to slip up and they're going to kill me and everyone I love..."  
"I won't let that happen!" Spawn half-shouted, his expression one of pure rage and fearsome promise. I looked up at him, tired of running from my fate and hiding behind everyone else as I shook my head.

"You can't help it- some day they're going to find me. It might be months from now or it might be tomorrow. But until I die, they're going to hurt the people I love, and I can't let them hurt anyone else the way they hurt Nikitas and the way Aria hurt my mother. Please. If I can help in some way, even if it means sacrificing myself, I'll have to do it." I looked up at him, my eyes pleading. "Don't try to stop me. Please."  
"Why shouldn't I try to keep you alive?" He demanded. "You can't die. I can't let you die."  
"But if it's for the sake of humanity..."  
"I'm still not going to let you die." He took my hand in his and raised it to his lips. With his lips still upon my hand he shook his head.  
"But you have to think about everyone else in this, too!" I cried. "It's not just me! If I live, who knows how many people Iccarius and Ebony will kill!"  
"I am going to kill them before they touch you again, or before they harm anyone you care for again," He told me again, his rage over the subject so very obvious. "They are never going to hurt you again."  
"It's not that simple," I told him through tears. "It's me. It's always going to be me. Even if Ebony fails, Aria will not give up that easily. She's always going to hunt me."  
"So I'll kill her too!" He promised. I smiled softly, touching his cheek and blinking away my tears.  
"You can't kill an ancient goddess. I don't want to see you get hurt trying, either."  
"It's impossible for me _not _to try," He argued, placing his hand on mine. "I couldn't live with myself knowing that they'd hurt you again."  
I sighed, looking away and choking on another sob. "They're always going to hurt me. There's nothing you can really do about it, Spawn."  
He looked to me with a saddenned expression, which faded into a small smile. "You know, I think you're the bravest woman I've ever met."  
I had no words to say to this, I merely let him hold me close, closing my eyes and feeling the helplessness I'd felt grow with each passing moment.

"Spawn?"  
"Hmm?" He looked up from the computer screen to watch me. I was laying across the couch in the living room, reading one of the books from my bag, and I sat up to talk to him. If my eyes had been human, like they'd been a few hours ago, I wouldn't be able to see him in the black-out curtained kitchen, but as it was I could see him with my almost-as-good-as-a-Dark-Hunter-but-not-quite eyes.

"What did Iccarius mean when he said that you were trying to find him?"  
"I don't know what you mean." I could tell that something was wrong, though, it was as if I could feel him lying to me.

"Don't lie."  
He sighed, walking over to stand in the doorway of the living room. "What do you want me to say, Ivy? That I didn't seek him out to get revenge forwhat he'd done to you?"  
"I don't want to believe you would do something that stupid."  
"It's not as stupid as you're making it sound," He argued. I crossed my arms.

"Really?" I countered. "Going after my ex-husband in a blind vendetta, an ex who, may I remind you, has killed three Dark-Hunters already?"  
"Who has he killed?" He demanded.  
"Branwen, Akori, and Eli." I closed my eyes and turned away. I was trying my hardest not to think about Eli. Not now, not after I'd done so well getting over him.  
He paused and chose his words carefully when he spoke again. "Do you throw yourself at every Dark-Hunter you serve?"

I turned back slowly, my face a mask of anger. "What?" I snapped indiginantly. "That's ridiculous. Why would you say that? What does that even have to do with our conversation?"  
"You said you were 'getting over' Eli. Were you two an 'item'?"  
"No!" I cried, flushing. "Of course not!"  
"But you wanted him just the same."  
"I'm not talking about this with you!" I cried.

"Why not? You ask me more questions than I care to answer, why should I not repay you in kind?"  
"Because it's not fair!" I cried. "I never ask you questions like _that_!"  
He sighed. "I just want to know," He admitted softly. "_Were _you in love with Eli?" He looked a little anxious, but managed to hide it well. "Are you still?"

I sighed, sitting back on the couch. "When I was younger, I thought I was. He was so sweet and understanding...But now, looking back on it, he was just a kind man who helped me during a time of my life in which my loss could've driven me insane. A good friend, but..." I paused and looked away. "But looking back on how it was, I don't think I could have loved him enough to restore his soul. And I wouldn't damn someone to shadedom for just having a crush on them."  
"I'm sorry," He said quietly. I looked up at him with a small smile.

"I'm alright. Listen to me- going on about my love life at a time like this. I need to find Iccarius and kill him."  
"You make it sound so simple."  
"Well," I reasoned, "Now that my powers are restored, I could probably kick his ass three ways to Sunday, so I might as well track him down." I stood and looked down to my jeans and tee shirt. This would do.  
I walked to the landing at the bottom of the stairs and pulled on my grey and black winter coat, pulling my shoes onto my feet and slipping the gun Stryker had given me into my pocket.

"I really don't like you going out there to face him alone," Spawn called. "You can't wait until the sun goes down and I can go with you?"  
"No," I told him, opening the door. "See you later."  
"Wait!" I looked up to see him in the hallway, skirting around the daylight pouring in through the open door that I shut quickly after seeing his discomfort. "Take this with you."  
He offered me a tiny charm on a silver bracelet, and I looked up at him in confusion. I looked down to the charm to see that it was a tiny eye, a quite few shades brighter than the color of the eye I saw every time I looked in the mirror. He looked almost embarassed, but hid most of his emotion well.

"It's a Greek charm known as the Evil Eye," He explained, and I almost dropped it trying to give it back. "No, no, it's a misnomer. It supposedly prevents curses and hexes from harming the wearer, and since it's the best shot I've got at keeping you safe without being there to help, I'm wiling to use it." He turned it over and placed it in my palm. "Oh, also, it's got a state-of-the-art homing beacon on the back, so all you've got to do is break the silver band it's attatched to and it will send your coordinates to my cell phone, and I'll know you're in trouble. This is only to be done in situations of dire need, understand?" He gave me a stern look and I smiled, nodding quickly. Spawn smiled, leaning down to touch his lips to mine for a brief, over-far-too-soon kiss that was still enough to make my head spin. "Be careful, Buffy."  
"I will be," I promised, turning towards the door as I grabbed a spare set of keys off the wall. "Don't stay up all day worrying about me," I half teased. He smiled almost sadly.

"I make no promises," He called as I shut the door. I sighed, clicking the lock on the key to see which car this went to, and I heard the beeping of one of the SUVs from a little farther down the driveway. I walked to it, hearing the snow under my boots, and I honestly was a little scared about how I was feeling right now. I'd never heard of a Squire actually falling for their Dark-Hunter charge, and this wasn't even my hunter. I was _so _beyond screwed if Acheron found out.

But what if he didn't? Rumor had it that one of the Hunters in Seattle was actually married to an _Appolite.  
_If they could make it work, and if Ash was turning a blind eye to them, why not us?

_Because you're not normal. Spawn isn't trusted, and neither are you anymore. If Iccarius hadn't killed those hunters..._

Iccarius. Damn him.

Why was he still involved with this? What had he to gain from this except for the physical affection of a goddess who could never truly love?  
_If you can love, so can she; you're cut from the same cloth._

I wished that this had been my mother speaking to me, but she'd been oddly silent since my powers had returned, so it had to be the small part of me that was apparently still sane. If I could learn to love, even after all my soul had been through, why couldn't Ebony? Maybe she and Iccarius were meant for each other. They certainly deserved each other.  
Then again, I was not sure about my emotions right now. Love was far too strong and too perminant to grow in only a few days. Sure, I'd been through a lot, but this might just be my infatuation with the Hunter. Like I had told him only moments earlier, I wouldn't doom someone to Shadedom for merely having a crush on them.

But what he'd told me echoed in my mind, louder than anything else. I remembered the night of my almost-murder vaguely, as though it were someone else's memories. However, his words were crystal clear to me.

_"I wasn't talking about physical pain."_

So perhaps I couldn't love. Perhaps it wasn't in my genetic make-up. But still... If he believed that I could be harmed emotionally, maybe there was hope for me afterall. Maybe I could have more than a crush. Not likely, but maybe.

The little sane voice in the back of my mind whispered to me when I was alone in the car and when the large cabin behind me had faded into the snowy white background, and I did my best to ignore it when it spoke the truth.

_If you could love, you know damn well WHO you would love..._

Yes, I did. And it was a secret that I hoped a certain mind reader would never stumble upon, that I hoped I would take to my grave.

Which I might be seeing really soon if I didn't find Iccarius.

My first stop was the hospital. I was still pretty twitchy around this place, and it seemed so much worse because I was alone, but I was here for a purpose and question I had to have answered. The place that I found myself in, however, was cleaner and in better condition than the E.R.- It smelled like clean leather furnishings and had glossy light wood floors, expensive-looking pictures and sculptures in a clean waiting room with a computer area and large windows looking out onto the expansive parking lot. It looked a lot more like a hotel, as opposed to a hospital wing.

I continued to glance around suspiciously, waiting for a Daimon or a zombie to jump out at me, and when I found that there was nothing to fear I was beginning to losen the fists that my hands were clenched tightly in.

And that was when I saw Doctor Arimond.

I jumped back with a gasp when I saw him, stopping an instant before I ran to the door, taking that one second to realize that it wasn't really him- it was a missing person flier with a large photograph of him upon it.  
_HAVE YOU SEEN ME?_

This was written below his picture, which was him in a dress shirt the color of blood and a pair of black slacks, his arm around a woman who looked a little younger than him, who must have been his wife, who was clad in a dress of the same color with a black ribbon around her waist.

I felt a surge of guilt before realizing that she must be a Daimon, too. His destription was written up below that, along with a toll-free number to call with any information. His wife would have learned of his death from Iccarius or another member of their army, so I assumed this would have been put up by hospital staff.

I shuddered, walking past it quickly and trying to ignore the stares of the concerned hospital staff at my actions. I tried to move forward, tried to pretend that I was alright. If I looked suspicious, I would draw even more attention to myself, and I certainly didn't want that.

I approached a nurses' station, controlling my breathing and fear enough to ask, "What room is Sharon Parker in?"  
"What is your relationship to Miss Parker?" Asked the nurse in a bored tone.  
"I'm her sister."  
"Room 409 B," She said in the same uninterested tone. I nodded my thanks and then turned on my heel, walking towards the elevators.

Once I reached the second floor, passing a few more posters of Doctor Arimond on my way, I found room 409. It was in the ICU, which smelled of harsh cleaning products, hospital food, and death. My new senses were overwhelmed by the smells and I wrinkled my nose, walking quickly past patients in wheelchairs being pushed by nurses and doctors giving orders to interns about dosages and proper care methods.

Room 409 was at the end of the hallway, across from another nurses' station, this one empty spare a computer that was going through a slide show of pictures as a screen saver. I looked to the door of the ICU room. The door was mostly closed, opened only about half an inch, and I could see sunlight streaming in through windows looking out at the Alaskan morning.

The curtains were wide open, showing the blinding sunlight outside, and I squinted to see in the bright light that was giving me a pretty bad headache. I pulled them shut and then looked over to the comatose woman. She was getting better, thank God, but I kept thinking back to the night that she'd been hurt. If I'd been with her, if I hadn't been cowering by that body like an infant...

They'd have taken me along with the other two girls. I knew it was true, I was a human, and as much as I tried, it's not as though I could take on a group of Daimons on my own, not in a club full of them who would probably kill me as soon as I drew my weapon.

Shuddering, I looked back to the woman, wishing I'd brought like flowers or something. I felt a little awkward standing here with no purpose, and now I felt bad about bringing nothing to apologize for almost killing her.

I remembered how Aphrodite had tried to help me disguise my eyes, by having me think about what I wanted to happen. Maybe that would work again.

_Flowers. Bright, happy, Sorry-I-Almost-Killed-You flowers, please. Maybe yellow.  
_I closed my eyes and felt something fall into my hands, and I stumbed under the weight of a small fortune in flowers, most of which were still attatched to their rots, which were dusting the ground with dirt and rocks.  
"Crap!" I hissed, trying again to control my powers.

_A vase for them would be greatly appreciated._

I waited. Nothing happened.

_A PLANTER FOR THE FLOWERS. NOW. _

I closed my eyes again and smiled when something else fell into my hands. I opened them again, filled the clear crystal vase with water from the small sink, and stuffed the yellow flowers into their place. Setting it on the table next to her bed, I sighed.

"Who was Alice, Sharon?" I whispered, wishing she could hear me, wishing that she had an answer. "What did she know?"  
As I suspected, there was no answer from the unconsious woman on life support. I sighed, turning around to leave.

And that's when I saw Georgia West.

I backed slowly away, towards the windows, but a fat lot of good they would do me. Apparently zombie-things could walk in daylight. I clutched at the pendant Spawn had given me before I left the house. That wouldn't work, either-broad daylight and Hunters didn't mix.

"Leave, now," I told her, while willing my voice to not shake. "I have my goddess powers and I will kill you if I have to."  
She approached me quietly, contemplating me. I heard the door lock click shut behind her, and I studied what had once been a pretty young woman. Her white-blond hair was not matted with blood as it had been before, and she wore clean clothes, but she was whiter than a sheet and her eyes were sunken into their sockets, her teeth gnarled and yellowed like someone who'd been dead for decades, not months. She appeared fragile and hurt, but I knew the damage she could do. I felt my powers surging inside of me.  
Then she spoke, and her words floored me.

"Good. I want you to." Her voice still had a grating, harsh quality, but it sounded nicer, especially seeing as how she wasn't shrieking curses at the top of her undead lungs.

"What?" I replied in muted disbelief. "What are you talking about?"  
"I wish to die."  
"Can't you just, like, kill yourself?"  
"No. It is impossible. I must die by the hand of a breathing being."  
I was quiet as I contemplated this. "But, why?" I asked in severe confusion. "I thought you were happy with your life. You're all immortal, and if you destroy me, you can take over the world."  
"The world is nothing, if I don't have the one thing that I've always cherished," She told me sagely, closing her eyes and crying tears of deep red liquid. I hoped it wasn't blood, but I knew that it was, of course. Who was I kidding.

I fell silent, and after a minute or so I responded softly, "Alexander."  
"I blamed you for his loss, but I know it was better for him now," She said quietly. "He knew love in his last days."  
"Why did you take him, then?" I whispered. "He could have stayed with me. Spawn wouldn't have minded. He had children as a human, and he would have been kind to him, and I'm pretty sure Zarek would have tolerated him as best he can."  
"Spawn..." She sighed. "He knew Alexander when Alex was a baby. I know he would have been a good father to him. I just wish I would have left him to you both." I felt my stomach tighten at the emotion in her voice.

"Well, I mean- He wouldn't have been a _father..._Just...Uh..." I flushed. "That's not what I meant. Never mind what I just said."  
"I know what you meant. But I was given an order to retireve him, and when I am given an order, I cannot ignore it. I was thrilled at the idea of my baby living among us, in our camp. But Iccarius..." She sighed. "He only wanted my son as a sacrifice to the goddess Ariatine. He made me kill him and then called him an example of someone who helps the enemy." She looked up at me with red eyes rimmed with tears. "This life is nothing without my child."  
I felt my own tears welling. "I miss him, too. He was...He was a sweet kid. I didn't know him for long, but I loved him just the same."  
"Which is why you must understand that I cannot live without my son. Why you must kill me."  
"I don't know if I could..."  
"If not, I will go to the camp where your Daimons reside and let them kill me."  
"They'll take your soul. It will be horrible and agonizing, and you'll be begging them to kill you, but believe me, it'll be a long time before you die."  
"You just described life without Alexander," She said, wiping away her tears and catching my eye.  
I fell silent again. "You could fight for us," I offered. "Death might not be the answer."  
She shook her head. "As long as I live, the one who awakened me has control over all that I do. I escaped his control for this afternoon by drugging him, but he will awaken soon. Please, kill me before he realizes I am gone." She looked up at me, pleading. "I want to be with my child again."

Her eyes went wide as I said in indicision,"Well..."

"He awakens. Make your decision soon, I beg you." I nodded and before she could speak again, I rushed forward and buried my knife down to the hilt in her chest, where the inkblot on a Daimon would have been. Blood spurted forth from the wound and she gasped out, "Silver. It must be silver to kill me."  
In a second of pure panic I manifested a silver dagger and plunged it into her throat, stabbing repeatedly and listening to the sounds of agony that she made as the silver made connection with and burned her skin. And then she caught my eye, blood screaming from her tear ducts, nose, and mouth. Still she managed to smile to me.

"Thank you," She whispered reverently. I still said nothing, frozen with horror.

It took all my strength not to stop stabbing until her eyes glazed over and she stopped moving, and then I curled up in one of the chairs, my knees to my chest, as I watched her body quickly decompose and then fade into a light gold powder. I closed my eyes and the powder dissapeared.

I stood, willing myself into clean, blood free clothes.

And then suddenly, something hit me hard in the pit of my stomach. It was a dark presence, looming over me as evily as Iccarius had. I gasped as pain assailed me.

_You have absorbed my powers. I shall keep you safe from the one who awakened me.  
__How did I absorb your powers?_  
_When you took what remained of my soul into your body.  
_Panicking, I tore open my jacket to survey my chest for the teltale sign of Daimon-ism, and I was confused to find that I did not bear any inkblot. I looked back up and zipped up my jacket.

_But I'm not a Daimon. _

_No, you're not, but you are a goddess, and Ebony told us that she can obsorb the soul of anyone who crosses her path. Since you are her twin, I assumed that you could do the same. For all the wrong that I commited while I still resided upon this earth, for all the pain I wreaked upon the humans, I shall redeem myself by being a sheild to you. If she tries to absorb your powers and your soul if she kills you, she will have to go through mine. _

_But she's a goddess. _

_My soul is stronger than one might think. As long as I protect your soul, she shall not harm it. _

_But won't your soul die, like any Daimon kills' would?_

_Eventually, but I am hoping that I might be able to hold on until after the battle begins. _

_And when will that be?  
At the most...One week from today. They're growing impatient. Spawn destroyed a few of their new recruits last night, and he's on a blood hunt for Iccarius for what he did to you. _

_Does Spawn know how to destroy them with silver, like you showed me?  
No, but fresh Daimon kills about to go 'Zombie', as you call it, can be killed as easily as any Daimon can. _

I froze. _Georgia...Where are they getting their recruits?  
You set free a group of Daimons in this area. Many of the Spathi are surprisingly messy about their kills-they leave bodies all over the place. Iccarius alone truly knows how to revert a newly dead human, but whoever the Daimons kill..._

_They become zombies. _

_Yes. _

_Fuck. _

As soon as I had left the hospital, I drove the thirty or forty miles out of Fairbanks towards the camp filled with Daimons. I was nervous here. I felt blashpemous just being here, and I knew the trouble I'd be in if anyone knew I was here. But I had to tell Stryker what I knew. If I didn't, it might lead to the demise of us all.

I made my way to the tent that I'd met Urian, Solomon, and Strykerius in a few days ago. The desk had dissapeared, and in its place stood an oppulant bed, with wrought iron posters that were drawn with thick black curtains. I stepped forward to draw them back, and a strong hand grabbed my wrist. I gasped and tried to pull away, until the curtains parted to reveal Strykerius, wide awake and angry.

"Why are you sneaking up on me while I sleep?" He snapped. "I didn't think you were _that _stupid."  
"I'm not," I said solemnly, wrenching free my wrist. "I have information."

I spoke quickly and softly, hoping that no one else would hear about the murder I'd commited and the soul I'd supposedly taken. When I finished speaking, Stryker was laying back in bed, watching me with a bored expression.

"You're lying, human." Stryker stretched out across his bed, looking up at me, the thin black sheet the only barrier between the cold air and what I guessed was his nakedness. He was tanned, which sort of suprised me, and really ripped, something that really didn't surprise me. You didn't get to be a Daimon king by sitting around watcing TV.

However, I was pretty good about ignoring his hotness. Again, I've worked for some pretty freakin' cute guys. He didn't faze me, especially since he was everything I'd always sworn to hate and destroy.

"No, _Daimon_, I'm not. I have the soul of one of his warriros inside of me now. She told me that Iccarius is going around every night afteryou guys and turning the bodies of each of your kills into vessels for his warriors. If you don't stop feeding on these people..."  
"My people will die," He snapped, sitting up and glaring at me. "And because of that, you will die."  
"I..." He was right, and I had nothing to say. "I mean, God! Can't you take them somewhere else to feed? I don't want Iccarius' numbers to grow any more than they have, and I certainly don't want to lose what might be my last hope at salvation."  
Stryker's silver eyes flashed dangerously. "I'll think of something. In the mean time- Could your _'soul' _friend tell you where they're stationing these supposed 'troops'?"  
"I don't know. Can you, Georgia?"  
_I suppose I could, if he could stop being petulant, and if he would stop refering to me as though I do not exist. _

He frowned at me, and then glared as though he could hear what she'd said about him. I could almost see the pretty young blond woman smirking at him, hands on her hips.

Stryker stood, wrapping the sheet around his lean hips. I looked away, sort of embarassed, and I told him, "Yes, she can. But can any of your men walk in daylight?"  
"No," He smiled, looking at me pointedly, a smirk twisting his lips. "But one of my women can."


	13. Or I Could Battle A Zombie Army

Being an errand-girl wasn't high on my list of what I wanted to be when I grew up, let me tell you that now.

_ "Errand girl, secure a place for our Battle of the Immortals."  
"Errand girl, go investigate the army of zombies."  
"Errand girl, get me a coffee. No creamer, two packets of sugar."_  
Yeah...No.

Yet there I found myself, driving down the road, taking directions from the soul inside of my mind.

_Take a left turn here. Drive until you see the sign that's advertising La Vie Nocturne. When you get to there, take a sharp right and follow Bocheute road to the dead end sign. _

Georgia's voice was clear in my mind, sharp and harsh, but without the demonic quality it had possessed while she was a zombie. Instead, it held an almost sweet quality under the dictator-like commands she issued.

I did as she said despite the suspicion that I still felt, and in about twenty five minutes or so I came to another building, actually only about 150 feet from the infamous club _La Vie Nocturne_. I shuddered as I saw the back of the club not nearly far enough, and then I turned around to see the wooded area where Sharon had almost lost her life. I turned away from it, feeling very alone and scared, even though it was the middle of the day.

Then again, Georgia had proved to me that the 'zombies' had the ability to walk in daylight, so I guess there was really nowhere for me to truly be safe. Great.

The cold winds whipped across my face, and I shivered, pulling my jacket tighter agianst me. I missed Miami, I missed the humidity, the ability to wear shorts and tee-shirts out in public and not freeze to death...

But if I left, I knew I'd miss here more than I could ever miss Miami.

Sighing at this harsh reality, I stuffed my hands in my pockets and came in contact with the gun that Stryker had given me days ago. I studied it carefully, noting that it looked just like any gun...

...But hadn't Stryker said something about land mines?  
Hm. Might be worth trying some time, just to make sure it worked...

_Not here._

I blanced. "Georgia, can you read my thoughts?"  
_Our life forces are bonded, so, yes. _

"Ah, Jeez. Another one."  
_What?  
_"Spawn."  
_Ah. I'd forgotten. _

"Hey, how long were you his 'Squire', anyways?"  
_About two or three years- Why?  
_"Just wondering." I began to walk away from the club at her direction, into the clearing- the very clearing Sharon had nearly lost her life in, and where I almost followed Alice to the grave only a few days later.

_Akra, you cannot lie to me.  
_"Akra?"  
_It is what most of the 'zombies' call your sister- I assume your title would be the same, if not more regal.  
_"Thanks...But just call me Ivory."  
_Fine, then; Ivory, you cannot lie to me._

"I'm not lying." I felt really weird, like I was talking to some sort of an imaginary friend-I guess I sort of was.

_Does this have something to do with your relationship with him?  
_"God! For the last time, we _don't _have a relationship!" I clenched my fists and glared ahead. "Everyone asks me that! We _don't_ _have a relationship! _End of story!"  
_Of course not...And just so you know, if I had eyes, I'd be rolling them. _

"Thanks."  
After a few more directions, she fell silent. I trudged through the snow towards an unknown destination, humming the whole way under my breath.  
"Why did we have to leave the car?" I asked a few minutes ago when I began to miss the heaters in the SUV.

_They'd hear. Now shut up, or this will have all been in vain and they'll find you. _

"Shutting up."

She fell silent as well, and we trudged through the snow,

_Now, on the subject of your relationship...  
_"Still shutting up."  
_Ivory, everyone is talking about it._

"Who's this 'everyone' you're talking about? I don't think I know them."  
_Hardy har har. But really. You were quite the subject of conversation in our camp. You and Spawn. _

"We are not an item! I told you!" I hissed.

_Why did he defend you against Iccarius, then?  
_"Because that's his _job, _Georgia. He protects humans."

_Right. And you had nothing to do with that. Iccarius was shot with bullets formed from the blood of a God- Hunters never have weapons like that, and they usually don't waste them on just any humans. _

"Iccarius is a god. He could only be killed by those. And jeez, I didn't like _ask _him to do that for me. He just did."  
_And yet he lives.  
_"You know, I think I liked the relationship conversation more. This one just bothers me. Alot. I'm going to kill Iccarius before he can hurt anyone else again, and that'll be the end of that. So be quiet, please."  
_Stop denying how you feel.  
_"Stop talking." I held a tight grip on the gun as I heard a scream rip through the woods, and then I took off in the direction of it, listening to the faint echo it caused. God, I knew it was going to be someone I knew. Don't ask me how. But bad stuff happens to me and the people I involve myself with on a daily basis.

Thankfully, it wasn't. It was a mousy haired young woman, pale with bloodloss, her hazel eyes wide with fear. Her hands were tied with thick brown rope, and she shook with fear, even as the blood drained out of the large gaping tear in her throat. Frankly, I was surprised she wasn't already dead from the bleeding. Her blood was clotted and deep red in the snow around her, soaking in with each passing second and spreading into a puddle about her dying body. I looked around, searching in vain for someone to help.  
I found no one.

Except for Iccarius.

He approached from the shadows, clapping his hands together slowly, a smirk twisting his lip. He wore a black tee shirt that was tight over his taught muscles, and a pair of black pants tucked into Harley Davidson boots. His eyes glinted with malice as he spied me, and he wiped something away from his mouth. When the droplets hit the ground, I realized with a sickening twist of my stomach that it was blood.

"You found me, Ivory," He said, raising an eyebrow and giving me a leering look. "I didn't think it would take you that long."  
"Sorry, but I was comatose for about two days after your weak attempt on my life failed. I just woke up. Rested and rejuvinated, asshole." I cracked my knuckles, and then I flicked a set of knives out into my hands from my jacket where they'd been conceiled, falling into a fighting stance that I hoped looked strong. My heart was skipping beats, but it wasn't because he was hot.

Honestly, he wasn't so sexy anymore, especially since he'd raped me and tried to kill me. But I might be the only one who thinks about things in that sort of a mind set.

He laughed alloud at my words. "I don't want to kill you, Ivory."  
"Really?" I snapped. "Because I want to kill you."  
"I know. But Ivory-there could be a future for us. You can overthrow your sister and kill her. We can reign supreme over this army. You can be my queen again."  
It was my turn to laugh. "Fuck you."  
He sighed. "Well, they can't say I didn't try." He turned to walk away, but before he did, he snapped his fingers and pointed back at me. "Kill her."  
At first, it appeared that he'd been talking to himself, but then put of the woods charged a bunch of the zombies that Georgia had been up until a couple of hours ago, each with the same demented yet empty expression on their faces. I sort of felt bad for them- until they tried to murder me. Then I stopped feeling and started killing.

They were actually a little easier to kill than Daimons-these must have been the 'new recruits' that Georgia had mentioned before her death. As they fell, they lay on the ground until they became the powdery gold substance Georgia had turned into after her death. The snow was painted gold within a matter of minutes.

I turned to force the silver-coated knife through the forehead of one of the zombies, when he grabbed my wrist and took a giant bite of it. I shrieked, kicking him back, and then I stabbed him violently, still screaming. I cradled my bloody wrist for a second before I turned on the remaining three.  
They took one look at me, one look at the bodies that lay in my wake, and then turned around to run after Iccarius.

"Weak!" I snarled, catching one in the back with a bullet. A silver bullet, actually, conjured up by the powers of yours truly. Thank you, mommy. "You're weak!"

The zombie fell and became dust, just like his friends. Another bullet ended the life of yet another zombie, and before I could reload, the last one ran out of sight. I knew that to follow him into his camp would be suicide.

I looked around. No humans for many miles, no human interference, and about as cloce to a middle ground as I was going to get between the two camps.

I studied the gun Stryker'd given me, wondering how the hell I was supposed to work this thing. Did I shoot it into the snow? The trees bordering the empty clearing?

_Shoot the bullets into the sky. Only four, one in each corner of your 'arena'. Give yourself enough room to fight an army of well over one hundred and fifty 'zombies'. The magic will do the rest. _

"I noticed that you were absent during all of that, Georgia." My voice was a bit accusitory, but hey, she had conveniently dissapeared for the bulk of that patricular fight.  
_No. I was here._

"You sure?"  
_Let's just say those weren't 'new recruits', as you put it._

"You weakened them?"  
_Yes._

"Why?"

_I told you before, Ivory; the sins of my past shall be attoned by protecting you. _

"How much energy did that take?"  
_A lot. I'm actually pretty exhausted now. _Surprisingly, I yawned when she said this, and then felt the need to sleep creeping into my body. _Our life forces are tied, so the best way for me to recharge my batteries would be..._

"For me to sleep."  
_Whoever said pretty girls weren't smart lied. _I could see her smiling face in the back of my mind. _I'm exhaused, so if you could perhaps finish your shooting..._

"Right, give me a second," I told her, re-loading the small gun and aiming carefully, shooting up towards the sky. The bullet dissapeared and then a moment later it fell to the snow, falling so quickly and with such force that it was buried deeply in the snow. The snow around it began to melt, and I walked towards the spot where it had landed to see a perfectly formed silver snowflake embedded in the white snow.

"Won't someone see this and try to remove it?"  
Georgia sighed, sounding very tired indeed. _It will burn them if they try to remove it. Anyone without a pulse and breath in their body cannot come within inches of it, or their powers will wane, and it gives most humans pretty gnarly headaches. _

"Oh." I did this task three more times until we had a decent sized 'battlefeild', and then I yawned again, watching wearily as the last of the corpses dissapeared into gold powder. I turned to walk away, towards the car, my hands in my pockets and the still warm gun in one of my hands.

For some reason, as I walked my thoughts turned to Zarek. I had yet to see him since I had awoken, and I sort of felt bad for shirking my Squire duties for Spawn. I mean, he was pretty much worth it, but...

...But I was still Zarek's Squire, and his first at that. I kind of needed to be there, or I wasn't really earning my paycheck. On top of that, the psycho _had _saved my life.

"Hey, Georgia?"  
_What? _She groaned.

"I have to make another stop. It'll just be a few minutes, alright?"

_Fine. But if I doze off, you can't blame me._  
"Uh, I think I can, because if you 'doze off', I'll swerve off the road and die."  
_Oh, you can stay awake without me, but if you want me to sleep better, you'll sleep as well. _Her tone was neither demanding nor prodding, she was merely stating a fact, and I shrugged.

"Go to sleep then. I'm just going to check in on Zarek and see if he needs anything."  
_A-okay by me, boss. I'll be curled up in some dark corner of your mind if you need me.  
_Frowning at the thought of someone curling up to sleep in my darkest thoughts, I headed towards the black car, which stuck out against the white scenery. I looked around, trying not to think about the lives I'd just taken or my asshat of an ex-husband. But his words creeped into my mind again.

_You can be my queen again._

Did that mean that he was going to actually try to _kill _Ebony?  
Jesus, I had to wish the guy good luck. She'd rip his throat out if he thought about it. Come to think of it, I wanted to rip his throat out, and he wasn't even trying to murder me right now.

...Scratch that. Yes, he was.

_Can you stop thinking about that...thing? _Snapped Georgia, in my mind. _I don't want nightmares.  
_"Yeah, sorry." Making my way to the car, I unlocked my door and sat for a moment, waiting for the car to heat up. As I waited, my cell phone began to ring, blasting the chorus of My Chemical Romance's _Mama _in the closed confinements of the car. I jumped about two feet in the air before I answered it.

"Yes?"  
"Ivory?"  
"Spawn?"  
"Yeah, uh...You need to get back here. ASAP." He sounded sort of worried, and I didn't really know what could make an ancient immortal warrior worry. Besides me, that is. Then again, I got myself into enough trouble that Zarek was probably going to start worrying about me soon. Well, maybe not. But you know what I mean.  
"Why?" I asked suspiciously. "For that matter, how do I know this is even you?"  
"Go on, Rainbow Kid. Doubt me. I dare you." His voice sounded a bit biting and mean, but I saw through it quickly and with a small smile twisting my lip.

"Well, what do you need?"  
"It's Nikitas."  
"Oh, God, I forgot to call someone about him!" I cried, my eyes wide. "Jesus, he's not like decomposing or something, is he?"  
"No. That's not it." He fell quiet, and when he didn't continue, I continued for him.

"Well, what is it then?"  
"Just a second." I raised an eyebrow quizically, and I heard the phone being moved, and then him softly tell someone, "It's Ivory."  
"Hi, auntie!" A chipper voice cried into the phone. I dropped it and then resisted the urge to scream at the top of my lungs. I took the phone back tentatively, holding it like a pipe bomb to my ear.  
"Baby," I told Nikitas, trying to regain control over my heartbeat, "Put Spawn back on the phone, would you?"  
"Uh huh," He told me in a happy tone, and my heart stopped again at the sound of his sweet little voice. The phone was shifted again and I started the car, welcoming the heater with proverbial open arms.

"And you see the problem here," Spawn said in an almost bored tone.

"Spawn," I told him softly. "If this is a joke, I will rip you in half. Likewise, if I get home and there is a hair out of place on his little blond head, I will also rip you in half. It will not be a quick, painless death. It will be slow. And painful. You will scream."  
"So you leave me alone for five minutes and suddenly I'm abusing children?" He said with a bitter laugh. "I know Nikitas. I've known him for a long time. He'll be fine."  
"You know what he is, though."  
"Yes. And you know I've known him since he was less than a day old."  
"If you harm him..."  
"I'd harm myself first."  
"But he's one of _them._" I whispered the word, feeling sorrow creep into my heart.

"He's an innocent, Ivory. We're forbidden from hurting innocents in our line of work. Remember?"  
I sighed. "He better be in one peice when I get home."  
"Just get home." I hated the little thrill that overtook the sorrow at the mention of 'home'. Honestly, I'd only known the guy for a couple of days, but I really did feel at home with him. More at home than I'd felt in a long, long time. He honestly seemed to care about me and my safety, which was weird. I had older brothers, but...

...Let's just say the 'protective' vibes I got from Spawn were not the same as the ones I got from family members. Not by a long shot.

Ah, Jeez, today really couldn't get better, could it?

First I get my goddess powers back and my eyes turn into something out of a bad horror film. Then I kill a suicidal zombie, and then almost get killed by Iccarius and his newfound friends. Oh, and then the reason that the zombie asked me to kill her comes back to life, and since she's apparently taken up residence in the back of my mind she's going to see him pretty soon. Just peachy.

I sighed, turning the car around and heading towards Spawn's home. What _was _Georgia going to say when she saw her son, alive, and when she knew that what she'd sacrificed had been taken in vain?

"_Spawn!_" I hollered, kicking the door with my boot. "Open this door _now!"_

I'd been waiting outside for five minutes, and don't get me wrong, I'm a patient person most of the time.

However, this was not one of those times. _  
_"Quiet!" He demanded in a hiss, opening the door and pulling me inside, locking the daylight outside and drawing the curtains in the entryway shut before the light found him. He let go of my wrists and I glared up at him, my eyes demanding explaination. "He's sleeping."  
"Where?" I whispered back. He pointed up the stairs and I took off running, dropping my snow-covered jacket over the banister where it landed in a pile at his feet. I continued down the hallway until I found the room where I'd last seen Nikitas' little corpse, when it had almost been crushed under the weight of a dresser.

When I opened the door, I half expected the room to be empty. I closed my eyes and then opened them again tentatively, blinking and trying to adjust my eyes to the darkness that was caused by the blackout curtains across the large windows of the spare bedroom.  
There he was- tiny and perfect, his featured relaxed in sleep and the blankets pulled up around his throat. His hands were lying against his cheek and he was turned towards the door, his mouth open in a tiny 'o'.

I rushed to the side of the bed, sitting down but making sure to not sit on him. I brushed a finger lightly across his cheek, and then I ran my hand across his light hair, almost making sure the little once-dead child was real.

His pale eyelashes fluttered and then he looked up at me with wide blue-grey eyes. My hand faltered and then I pulled him up into my arms, choking on a sob as I crushed him against me.

"Oh, God," I whispered, blinking back my tears. He looked up at me with blank, wide eyes.

"Why are you here, auntie?" He asked in that sweet little voice. I sobbed again, holding onto him tightly as I shook my head. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked up to see Spawn hovering over my shoulder.

"Your aunt is staying with me for a while," He told the boy in a soothing, calming voice. "Until it's safe for her to be on her own again."  
"Iccarius," Nikitas said knowingly. Spawn nodded, and Nikitas looked at me again, blue eyes filling with tears. "I'm sorry, auntie. I got you in trouble, didn't I?"  
"No, Nik, I got you in trouble." I hugged him again and then let him settle back against the pillow. I brushed his hair back and ran a hand across his cheek again before I stood. "You should go back to sleep, baby."  
"Stay," He pleaded, taking a grip on my hand and looking up at me with his new eyes, fear reflected under their surfaces. "At least until I fall asleep again."  
"I will, hon," I promised him, sitting down again. I looked up at Spawn, taking Nikitas' hand. "You should go to sleep, too."  
He snorted. "Like hell," He muttered. "Last time I turned my back on you two, you both got yourselves killed."  
"Spawn!" I snapped angrily, hoping Nikitas hadn't heard him.

He raised his hands in defeat. "I'm leaving, I'm leaving."  
I smiled softly. "You don't have to leave yet. But if you don't get to bed, you're going to be really tired tonight," I warned  
He shrugged. "I don't mind leaving-This is kind of an important time for you two. Reuniting and all. I'll leave you alone." He leaned down to kiss me on the cheek and then he patted Nikitas on the head. "Night, kid."  
"Morning," Nikitas corrected, smiling sleeping. Spawn rolled his eyes and turned away, walking back towards the hallway that even in the middle of the day was as dark as the night.

When the door closed again, I walked over to the curtains and opened them, letting the light stream in from the outside, and then I returned to the bed beside him.  
"Nikitas," I began softly. "Do you remember anything about before..." I bit my lip, not knowing how to phrase what I had to ask.

"Before I died?" He offered. I shook my head.

"I didn't mean it like that, I-"  
"Okay. Before I went away?" He smiled to me, as though he were the adult and I the child. "Better?"  
"Better. Do you remember where you were?"  
He shook his head regretfully. "I remember my momma and Iccarius," He sneered the word, "And hearing music. It was cold. But no, I don't remember exactly where." He looked up with wide, pale eyes. "My mommy-Where is she?"  
I paused. "I don't know," I lied. He narrowed his eyes, detecting my lie.  
"Yes, you do," He told me. "She's here right now, isn't she?"  
"No. She's sleeping."  
"In here?" He reached up to tap my temple and I looked away. "I know what she did. She gave herself up, and when she died, I came back to life."  
"What do you mean?" I asked seriously.

"My soul was trapped between this world and the next after I died, and I was told that if blood was sacrificed on my behalf that I could be human again. Momma wanted to leave-she'd hurt me and she couldn't live with herself or hurt anyone else. She knew I was here. She did it to save me."  
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You got your mom to..."  
"No. I just needed a little blood. She's the one who wanted to die." He shrugged. "It had to happen. He said."  
"Who said?" I asked softly. He smiled faintly.  
"Hades."  
I felt my eyes go wide. "Hades?" I whispered back. He nodded.

"He gave me the potion that brought me back. He called it something..." His brows came together as he tried to remember "Eurydice, or something like that... Something Greek..."  
"It's alright," I told him soothingly. "You don't have to remember."  
"Yes, I do," He said urgently. "I needed to remember. He told me that. That if I didn't...bad stuff would happen."  
"To you?"  
"To all of us. Bad..." He stopped to yawn. "Bad, end-of-the-world stuff."  
"Well," I said as calmly as I could, "We can think about that later. For now, I want you to go back to sleep and not think about anything but sleeping. Okay?"  
"Okay," He said uncertainly, still frowning as I re-adjusted his covers. I leaned over to kiss him on the forehead and then I pulled the blankets up around his neck, standing up and smiling to him.

"Night, hon," I told him sweetly. He smiled sleepily, rolling over onto his side.  
"Morning," He replied before I shut the door with a smile.

Then I leaned against the wall and then slid down to hit the floor, resting my head in my hands as I cried quietly.

I hated Iccarrius, maybe more than I hated Ebony or my mother. Hated him for what he'd done to all of our lives. He'd turned my friend against me, used my family, killed an innocent boy and driven his mother to suicide. And Spawn...

...He was going to get himself killed if he didn't stop going after Iccarius. And that was the last thing I wanted. I didn't want to ruin another life with my poison and I didn't want to cause the death of another Dark-Hunter. Certainly not him.  
Zarek was safe-I didn't think Iccarius knew about him. At least, I hoped he didn't know about him.

I was going to check on him, just in case.  
I stood and brushed off my jeans, breathing deeply and wiping at my eyes. I then walked to the end of the hallway opposite the stairs and knocked on the door. There was a groan and then Spawn muttered, "What?"  
"I'm going to see Zarek. Just thought you should know."  
"Be careful."  
I smiled softly. "I will," I promised. There was silence.

"You know," He finally replied, "Whenever you say that, something goes wrong."  
"Fine then, Lucy. I won't be careful."

He sighed. "This is one of those things that is going to end badly even if you try not to jinx it."  
"Yeah, probably."  
"You sure you don't just want to hang out here?" He questioned. "Maybe just call him?"  
"Spawn..."  
"Ivory..." He repeated in the same partonizing voice. I glared at the door, and when he spoke again, he sounded insulted. "Don't think mean things about me."  
"I wasn't!" I lied.  
"Uh huh..." He said, sounding _very_ convinced, and then he sighed. "Just call me later to let me know you're not dead."  
"Will do. Bye."  
"Bye."  
I stomped back down the stairs, picking up my coat, and then I stuck the gun in one of the drawers in the kitchen, thinking I didn't really need it if I was just going to run to Zarek's really quickly. Then I spied a silver knife laying in the same drawer, and I remembered what I'd had to tell Spawn.

Running back up the stairs, I knocked on the door again and waiting for him to get up, tapping my foot impatiently on the ground until he opened the door, glaring at me.  
"Am I going to get any sleep today?" He demanded. I shrugged.  
"I don't know, but I wanted to tell you that I know how to kill the zombies!" I told him breathlessly, smiling and trying to feel proud as I watched him. His fine features betrayed nothing, but his black eyes flashed with surprise. He opened the door more and leaned against the frame.

"Should I ask how you know?"  
I looked away uncomfortably. "Uh..."  
"You're going to probably think about it eventually, so it's better to tell me now as oppposed to having me find out later."  
I contunied to avoid his gaze. "Georgia's dead," I admitted softly.

I'm not really sure what I expected besides him being really angry. I mean, I know he had shot her as a zombie, but he'd known her as a human and I'd seen how her first death had affected him, how he'd really seemed to blame himself. I could have understanded it if he yelled at me, or even if he got really depressed and told me to leave him alone.

What I didn't think he was going to do was pull me into his arms and hold me close, which is what he actually ended up doing after the initial shocked look and disbelieving expression had passed. I was still a little surpised, and a little wary, so I didn't speak to him.

He pulled back to study me. "Are you okay?" He demanded as he checked both sides of my neck and then held a hand to my forehead. "Did she hurt you?"  
"No!" I said, swatting his hands away and glowering at him. "I'm fine- She came to me. I went to the hospital to visit Sharon and she found me there, and asked me to kill her."  
"But..." He looked confused. "Why?"  
"That's what I asked. She said it was because of what had happened to Nikitas, and that it had been all her fault. They sacrificed him..." I felt sickened, and I looked up at him with wide eyes that were slowly brimming with tears. "They sacrificed him to my mom."  
"Oh, god, Ivory," He said quietly, his voice gentle. I turned away.

"I'm fine," I said bitterly, closing my eyes. He sighed.

"No," He told me. "You're not."  
"You're wrong. I'm absolutely fine. I mean, why should it affect me?"  
"Because you're blaming yourself for what happened."  
"So?" I pouted like a child and he sighed.  
"You didn't tell them to kill him, did you?"  
"No!" I cried, my eyes flying open. "But Spawn- if I hadn't become a Squire, Iccarius couldn't have tracked me down. He would not have killed all those people, and the Dark-Hunters..."  
"...And you never would have become Zarek's Squire, and I would have never met you." His eyes became distant and cold. "I understand the concept." He let go of me and I looked up to him helplessly, trying to explain my mistake.  
"No, I didn't mean that, I-" I sighed, pulling away from the door and not bothering to look back as I made my way towards the stairs. "Oh, never mind. I'm going to see Zarek-I'll be back later."

I slammed the front door shut behind me, watching as some of the snow from above the door fell into a pile at my feet. Kicking through it furiously and watching it flurry up around my knees, I stormed towards the car, whatever good mood I might have had at Nikitas' return flying straight out the window.

"Something's wrong," Zarek told me in a bored tone when he unlatched the door and retreated into his underground tunnels to avoid the deadly daylight. I sat at the mouth of the cave-thing, swinging my feet over the edge. I glowered into the demon's pit, which I could no longer see because the curtains had been closed over the one window.

"Nothing is wrong!" I denied, looking away again and playing nervously with a lock of my hair. That was a habit I had discovered I had about five years ago, and I hated it with all my heart.

"Bullshit." He hoisted himself up through the opening, and I moved back to allow him to sit beside me. I noticed, though, that he kept a considerable distance between us, and I was a little grateful for it. Any closer and my lie would have been painfully obvious. Despite years of practice, I'm not a superb liar.

I sighed. "Nikitas is back."  
Zarek looked over at me from the piece of wood he was carving. He frowned. "Isn't that a good thing?"  
"Yes," I reasoned, "But I'm the reason he died in the first place."  
"Who told you that? Spawn?"  
"No. I..." I closed my eyes and continued to swing my feet over the opening. "I told it to myself, because it's true."  
I felt tears pricking at the corners of my eyes, threatening to spill, and I wiped my face furiously with my gloved hand, refusing to let anyone, let alone this man, see me cry. I was done crying and I was done feeling sorry for myself.

I heard him mumble something under his breath, but I could not decipher individual words. I opened my eyes when they had dried and I frowned deeply. "What did you say?" I inquired.

He turned back to me. "I said," He repeated in deliberate tones, "It is such a secret place, the land of tears."  
I frowned even deeper. "What the hell?"  
"It's from a book. You couldn't possibly understand."  
I glanced his way and saw his face was deadly serious. I was silent. And when I spoke again, my voice was filled with shock. "You can_ read_?"

"Yes," He growled, "I can read. It's amazing what you learn, stuck here in Hell for nine hundred fucking years."

"What's the book?" I asked him.

"Like I'm gonna tell you." He stood and walked back towards the front door, tossing the carved figurine into the fireplace as he walked. I paused and then followed, looking into the fire to see the small carving of an ornate rose curling up and burning like paper. I bent down to pull it out of the fire, and Zarek snapped, "What are you doing?"  
I jumped up, looking down at my hand, which was red and ridden with blisters, and I stared at it blankly. "I didn't-I-"  
"Why the hell did you do that?" He demanded angrily. I held onto my hand, barely feeling the dull pain throbbing in my hand.

"I don't know-I just wanted to see the-" I winced in pain as I watced the skin healover and the blisters dissapear. Zarek stepped back with a curse, staring at my now-healed .

"What the hell?" He demanded again, roughly grabbing my hands and pulling me away from the fire. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

I stayed quiet as I pulled my hands out of his and tried to walk around him, avoding the question entirely. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"You know very well what I'm talking about. Your hand should be covered in blisters and should hurt so much you should be crying," He snarled as he grabbed my hand again and turned it over, examining it. "Yet you're healed, as if it never happened." he continued softly.

"It's my mother," I told him quietly, gently removing my hand from his vice-like grip. "She gae me powers. I heal more quickly than any humans, maybe even more quickly than you Dark-Hunters."  
"How did your _mom _give you powers?" He snapped incredulously. "I thought she was trapped in Atlantis."  
"So did I. But she gave Ebony back her powers, and then gave me mine this morning. My eyes turned black and red." I pointed to them, nodding. "But now they're normal again."  
"I can see that..."  
"Yeah. So now I have the powers of an immotal goddess of pain and demons." I looked down to my hand, running my thumb along the healed burns.  
"Fun."

"I know." I rubbed my hands clean on my jeans and then sighed, sitting down on the small bed. "Can you tell me what book you were talking about?"

"No." _She'd laugh. She'd think I was stupid. _

"No, I wouldn't." He looked down at me, black eyes flashing with irritation.  
"What?"  
"I wouldn't laugh." He froze.

"I didn't _say _anything."

"Yes, you did- you said I would laugh, and that I could think you are stupid. I wouldn't." I crossed my arms.  
"No, Ivory, the last thing I said was the word 'no'."  
"Oh." I looked up at him, understanding. "I'm reading minds..."

There was a knock on the door, and I turned from the surprising and worrisome conversation to cross the minimal space to the door. Before opening it, I turned back to make sure Zarek had retreated into the darkness. I wasn't really sure who this could be, but I was pretty sure it was safe.

Well, I was sure until I saw Ebony standing in the now open doorway.

A/N.  
Gah, sorry about the short chapter, but I don't have a huge ammount of time to devote to writing now that school's started again. I really wish I had time, but I'm in a bunch of 'advanced' classes, and though that sounds pretty fun (To a loser like me) we have homework up to our eyeballs and only 24 hours in a day.

I have a lot on my plate and the updates are going to come slower, but they'll still be up as often as I can write them, I promise. Also, I have a few more stories in the works, and I hope I can start on them when I finally conclude Black Ice.  
Ideas? Questions? Feel free to drop me a line.

Kaela T.


	14. A Hallmark Family Reunion Is What We Had

There was a moment in which we merely stared at one another.

I was frozen into place, staring at my mirror image, drinking her in, my sister who I'd0 never seen in a place I'd never wanted to be. She was everything I could be as a goddess and everything I'd ever wanted to become. My wildest dream and my worst nightmare.

She had straight, jet black hair that fell to her slim waist, and despite the bitter cold she wore a black mini skirt, black fishnets, a pair of steel-toed combat boots and a lacy red tank top layered over another black one. I was disturbed deeply by how similar our features were-she and I shared a nose, the shape of our mouths, and the shape and size of our eyes.

We appeared similar to the untrained eye, but the longer I gazed upon her, the more differences I found-she had a sharper chin, a dimple in her left cheek, and her small, full-lipped mouth was contorted in a bitter smile. Oh, that and the fact that the eyes that appeared to be mine were bloody rose red. That I pretty much saw first thing.

She opened her mouth to speak and I spied long, fang-like teeth that gleamed like the new fallen snow where normal teeth would have been on a normal person. "Sister."  
"You're Ebony."  
"How did you know?" She asked, smiling a peculiar smile that put me on edge immediately. I shrugged.

"I just did. You look a lot like me. Except for the hair, of course, and the fucking creepy eyes."  
"Speak for yourself. I know your powers were unlocked earlier and you're just hiding your true eye color." She put a hand on her hip and seemed to take on the facade of a human teen, but I knew better than to trust this fabricated innocence.  
"And so you know we're an even match now?"  
The woman laughed bitterly. "Like hell," She laughed still. "I've had a millenea of practice. You've had twelve hours."  
_Ten, _I thought, stepping back and reaching for the handle. _But whatever. _

She laid her hand on the door and I saw the metal of the latch beginning to melt. It was then that I began to realize something- the strange heat that radiated from her skin, the faint smell of sulfur in the air, the reddish-yellow flames were now consuming her irises, they all pointed to one thing...

"Fire," I whispered softly. She stepped back with another horrible, morbid grin and I saw that the outline of her fingers was melted into the molten hot red metal of the door's latch.

I regarded my sister with shock, watching as her hair fanned like black flames out around her body, whipping in the warm wind that blew almost suddenly through the trees. She threw back her head and threw open her arms to the sky, and I saw heat radiating from her hands and flames playing on her fingertips. She laughed out loud again, sounding hysterical, and when she lowered her head again her eyes glowed strangely, like the embers of a fire themselves. A smirk played on her lips before she spoke again.

"What is it that humans tell their offspring?" She mused, laughing again before she threw out her hand towards me. "Aren't they warned not to play with fire? Yet you test my patience more and more with each breath you draw and each moment that you are not buried under a pile of ashes in a ruin somewhere."

I gasped and closed my eyes, waiting for my skin to burn, to peel away like the residue of a sunburn around me, and then I breathed a sigh of relief when I felt no pain.  
Until I opened my eyes again to find the entryway to the cabin burning around me.

* * *  
Acting purely on instinct, I slammed the door shut and ran screaming for Zarek. I jumped into the abyss to find him sitting on the floor, his head leaned against the wall, his eyes closed. I shook him, thinking either he was dead or asleep. I was hoping for asleep, under these circumstances.

He opened his eyes to pin me with an irritated glance. "This is an awesome time for a family reunion, isn't it?"

"We're trapped," I told him. "Your house is burning, and it's daylight. She's won. We're going to die."  
"Fuck," He said, standing up and waiting until I stood to my full height, many inches shorter than him. "I'm not giving another woman the satisfaction of getting me killed."  
I didn't have time to ask him what he ment, because he pointed down another corridor towards a dark, seemingly empty hallway. "I'll meet you there in a minute, I have to get something from upstairs before she burns me out."  
"What is it?" I asked, not wanting to risk exposing him to daylight. "I can get it."  
He shook his head. "You won't be able to find it," He laughed, pulling himself back up through the opening that led to the burning building, and I started down the corridor as per his directions.

The tunnel was dark as night, and without my mom's gift of my powers, I would probably be stumbling around like an idiot, lost for hours. As it was, I followed the narrow and winding hallway towards an unknown location. I noted as I ran that almost every square inch of the shelving and cabinets lining the wall was carved with the same intricate patterns.

Stopping despite Zarek's orders to run, I stopped and traced one of them with the pad of my thumb, finding the same pattern of a rose etched on its dark brown surface. I frowned, thinking about all the spare time Zarek had. Why spend it carving roses?  
"Hey!" I heard someone snap, roughly grabbing my shoulder. I jumped and turned with raised fists to see Zarek glaring at me. "What the hell are you doing?"  
"I- nothing. Just thinking."  
"Well, stop thinking and start running," He ordered, pushing me away from the bookshelf and towards an unknown destination.  
"Where are we going?" I asked as he grabbed my wrist and took off running down the hall. He didn't answer for a minute, and I pulled back, digging my heels into the ground and wrenching my hand from his grasp.

"Are you nuts?" He snarled. "Keep running! She's going to kill you!"  
"I thought you didn't run from girls. Aren't you supposed to be all badass and immortal?"  
"During daylight, and when that 'little girl' is a revenge-bent Atlantean goddess, I feel that it is best to run, don't you?"  
I shrugged. "I just want to kill her."  
"Run, make a plan later, and then kill her."  
I lowered my eyes and then spotted a small black book in his grasp. "That your address book, or something?"  
"Or something."  
I snatched the book away before he could stop me, and then held him at bay as I read the title. "The Little Prince?" I laughed, turning to him. Instead of a rude, caustic remark, he was surprisingly quiet, his eyes blank as he surveyed the ground and avoided my eyes. My voice became soft and quiet. "Is this important to you?"  
"It's nothing," He growled harshly, snatching it away.

"Is that what you went back for-" I began, but before I could finish my sentance there was an explosion from inside of the cabin and the sparks rained down into the dark cave, scattering dirt and debris everywhere. Zarek cursed again, snatching me up and throwing me over his shoulder, and I was so frightened that I didn't argue.

Watching the destruction of Zarek's possessions was almost disheartening for me, in some weird way. I didn't want to admit it, but I felt bad. I'd caused this to happen. If I hadn't-

-How _had _Ebony found me, in the first place?

I looked down to my hand again, at the almost-healed blisters. Had my burn had anything to do with her tracking us down? With her being able to shoot fire from her fingertips and all, it didn't seem like that far of a shot for her to be able to track me through fire and burns.

"Ivy!" A voice cackled in a mocking tone. "I'm going to burn you out, you little bitch!"  
I closed my eyes. We were going to get away, we'd all be happy (except for Ebony, of course), we'd defeat my sister...

And then we'd all walk off into the sunrise, linked arm and arm.

_Riiiight. _

_(Where'd you go, you little- steal my Iccarius out from under my nose, you little slut, how'd you like it if I stole that hunter of yours while there was nothing you could do about it, cowering in the snow like some little rodent, you...)_

I grimaced as I heard Ebony's voice in my mind. Damn her for thinking about hurting...

About hurting Spawn.  
And Nikitas . . .

And Ruby (Ruby added this :D)  
I froze and then kicked against Zarek, trying to get him to let me go. "Damn it, Z! Let me go!"  
"Why? We're both going the same way anyways."  
"No, we're not," I told him, twisting to try to remove his arm from my back as he pressed me against his shoulder, trying to bar my escape. "Let me go, damn you!"  
"No!" He shouted, but he eventually released me and I fell to the ground in a crumpled heap on my bad ankle. Damn, what was with everything happening to my poor foot? I was going to need corrective surgery or a replacement ankle by the time I was thirty.

Pushing aside thoughts of my wounds and future corrective surgeries, I climbed to my feet and broke into a run, making my way towards the war path my sister was cutting through the labyrinth of tunnels under Zarek's cabin. He yelled something to me, but the sound of his voice was lost against the roaring of the flames that had fully engulfed his home. I tried to see through the eye burning smoke to find Ebony and kick her ass. She was gone, though, and I felt the fear take a hold of my stomach.

I knew where she was going, that bitch. She knew where they were and she knew how to hurt me.

"Zarek!" I yelled. "Find a safe place, I'm going to get her!"

"Don't you dare!" He screamed at me, but I was gone already. I hoisted myself up through the opening of the cave to run towards the door, trying to maneuver through the deadly inferno. I found my way to the door, and in a move straight out of Law and Order, I kicked down the door and ran through it. I looked around frantically, trying to find the car.

She'd taken it. The tire tracks in the snow told me that, and the wires on the ground in a small heap. That bitch had hot-wired the car and gotten away.

She'd been trapped on Olympus for three thousand years, how the hell did she know how to hot-wire a car?

Never mind that now-I had to get to Nikitas and Spawn. That was the important thing. They had to remain unharmed. I'd never forgive myself if they died because of me. I'd feel pretty bad if they were maimed, too.

"Aphrodite!" I screamed in vain, hoping the goddess would appear to help me.

Of course she didn't, but hey, it never hurts to ask. I shivered, trying to think of what I could do, trying to remember- didn't Zarek keep snow mobiles? Yes, I could-

-No, I couldn't. The key to the storage shed, a metal box that was impervious to the fire, was somewhere inside Zarek's cabin, and that was one door I'd break my foot trying to kick open.

It was then that I remembered a conversation between a certain goddess and myself from earlier-it might have been days ago, might have been hours, it might have been weeks.

_"Did Aria actually give you back all of your powers?"  
"I don't think all of them. It happened about five minutes ago, so I've yet to try out my powers."  
"You should try them. You might have some pretty cool stuff."_

I realized then what I had to do to get to Ebony before she could hurt what I considered to be my fucked-up little family. Closing my eyes and hoping that I wouldn't have the misfortune to stumble into Kalosis or some other undesireable place, I concentrated and then suddenly the whipping winds that had been cutting at my skin fell silent.

I opened my eyes. Nope, I was right where I'd been standing before. Damn.

I concentrated harder, furrowing my brow and clenching my fists. _Come on, stupid goddess powers. Work. Work! I've got to save them!_

I opened my eyes again and looked around. Where was I? Zarek's cabin was gone, as was the storage shed and any other recognizable features of Zarek's property. I was in a place I'd never seen before. It was pitch black and I could see a sliver of light under a door, but that was pretty much it. There were no windows or other sources of light.

I heard something stirring, and I turned around, ready for hand-to-hand combat if necessary. Instead of giving me the chance to fight, something grabbed onto my wrist. Imagining something horrible like a zombie or a lawyer, I flipped whoever it was over my shoulder and onto the ground, pressing the weight of my foot against their chest while I fumbled for the light switch.

"What the hell?" Snarled the chest's owner indigitantly. I froze at the familiar, angry voice.

"Spawn?" I cried in disbelief.  
"Why are you in my room?" He demanded angrily.

"I can't explain-Ebony's on the way over-why-"  
"No, Ivory, you're going to explain. However, seeing as how we have some sort of an emergency on our hands, you will explain later. Can you please get off of me?"

Thankful for the darkness that shielded the horrid blush on my face, I stepped away and continued my search for the light switch. A candle was lit and placed in a holder while I was searching, and I turned to see Spawn in the almost-darkness of the room, narrowed black eyes fixed on me. He wore a pair of black sweat pants, and that was pretty much it, something I noted before I looked away, still retaining my blush. Man, it was some sort of unspoken rule that Dark-Hunter had to be ripped, wasn't it?

Tall, gorgeous, and ripped. I could respect Artemis in her appreciation for her warrior's appearances.

There was a minute of silence in which I scanned the room in the half-light that the candle produced- I saw that the room was indeed windowless, with no pictures or memorabilia of any kind on the walls, which might have been white. I spied a bed in the middle of the room, farthest from where I stood in my awkward state, canopied and black-sheeted. There was a desk, a CD rack, a dresser or two, but the room was rather barren, for being a bedroom. Mine at home had been filled with posters, pictures, and usually looked as though a bomb had blown up in my dresser drawers.  
"Can I use your guns, hand granades, knives, tazers, or any combonation of the above?" I finally inquired in a monotone, still averting my eyes and searching for some sign of individuality in the room. He stepped forward, and extended a hand that held a small silver key. "Thanks," I laughed nervously. He said nothing, and when I speed walked to the door and shut it behind me, I saw the candle flicker out.

God, was my face red, flushing with embarrassment as I held my hands against it to try and cool it down. I was still shaking my head in disbelief. I had been thinking about Ebony-why had my powers taken me to Spawn?

Pondering this still, and trying to think of how I could explain the situation to Spawn, I unlocked the door that led from the kitchen to the garage.

I looked around in disbelief at the weapons that filled the armory/garage, my mouth agape. The garage was three-car and filled with more weapons than I could dream up, and a few I'd never even seen before. Thank god the police had no clue these guys existed- half of this stuff wasn't legal in most states. Butterfly knives, hand grenades, even a flamethrower propped up in the corner told me that most methods of executing Daimons probably weren't too law-friendly.

I was looking over one of the handguns from a rack of many when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around my waist. I jumped and turned around to find Spawn smiling almost mockingly to me. He'd dressed in a pair of black jeans and a grey sweater, and his hair was pushed back from his forehead, his eyes now awake and alert, only a bit off-putting.  
"Don't shoot," He said, mockingly raising his hands. I frowned at him.

"You should go back to sleep," I told him seriously. He shrugged, pulling me closer.

"Not really tired anymore," He replied with a grin. I laughed, shaking my head, and then right when I was sure I was going to be kissed, something slammed into the side of the house with enough force that a display of knives fell from the wall to the floor. The silence that followed was deafening.

I pulled a round of ammunition from a drawer and pointed to the door, all buisness now. "Get back upstairs. If the daylight touches you, you're dead."  
"Ivory..." He began, looking as though he was going to argue. I put my fingers over his lips before he could finish what he might have been preparing to say, giving him a serious look.  
"Spawn. Seriously. I'm not taking any chances with your safety, especially not during the day time and while Ebony is out there gunning for me." I gave him a pleading look, removing my fingers from his face. "Go make sure Nikitas is alright, okay? Keep him safe. Let me go after her and make her pay. I promise, I'll be back as soon as I can be."  
I pulled myself up onto my tip-toes and kissed him softly and quickly, and then I turned away to load the gun, listening until the door shut behind him. I re-checked the gun, pulled a few granades down from the cabinets on the wall, and then opened the door leading outside.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

I looked around, noticing that the snow had stopped, sweeping my eyes over the cars in the drive way and the empty, silent front yard. From this vantage point, I could see most of the property, from the end of the long, winding driveway to the edge of the woods bordering the house. I kept a firm grip on the gun, ignoring the numbing cold that was biting at my fingers.

"Ebony!" I shouted tauntingly. "Come on, you little bitch! _Come out and play!_" I screamed the last part, my own voice a hoarse shock to my system that echoed off the trees and called back to me, five times worse than when I'd screamed it seconds ago.

Something whistled past my cheek, and I turned away just in time to avoid getting burned by the hot stone that had seemingly come out of nowhere. It landed in the snow, the heat of it melting the surface of the ice so that the rock fell through. I dug it out of the snow and poked at it like the weird-o I am, careful to not burn myself with it. It had some sort of a pattern on it...

I'd seen this before. Someone had drawn this for me once.

No, not just someone. _Eli. _

Why had he drawn the design I now saw on this random rock that had been thrown at me, probably by my sociopath and psychotic sister?  
I remembered what it was now. It was the soul of a Dark-Hunter. Eli had shown me it after he'd drawn it on a sketch pad he'd kept in his top left desk drawer-it was the rock that had held the soul of a Dark-Hunter from Boston who'd recently gone free. I wasn't sure how he'd gotten a hold of the design, but I'd recognize it anywhere.

I held the stone, not caring if it burned me or not. It would pale into insignificance compared to the agony the soul's holder must have felt touching the Dark-Hunter's actual soul.

Why did Ebony have this? Did this rock have any significance, or was it just some random rock she'd decided to throw at my head?

"Ebony," I yelled tauntingly, trying to draw her out to attack her and take my revenge out on her skinny ass, "How do you like my sloppy seconds? Remember, whatever he's shown you, I did with him first!"  
Something snatched my neck and I hit the ground; I hit the snow surprisingly hard, and then I kicked and clawed at my attacker with all of my might. But whoever it was seemed stronger.

"You bitch!" Ebony shrieked, her anger getting the best of her. "He loves me, not you! Me! Me!" With each 'me', she slammed my head into the layer of ice-snow.

"_I don't give a flying fuck!"_ I screamed, punching her hard in the neck and forcing her off of me. "I don't want him!"  
She froze and then her reddish-orange eyes narrowed into slits. "I don't believe you."  
"And I really don't care."  
She sat back in the snow and conjured a fire in her hands, burning away her injuries with the ball of flames. I watched her quietly, filled still with suspicion. She'd changed her clothes-she wore a long black leather duster now, and a pair of black jeans with a red halter top. My twin had a choker around her neck and a small silver chain falling between her shirt's collar and her skin.

She stood suddenly and abruptly, one hand raised as if to hit me, seemingly considering the consequences with silent contemplation. I stood slowly and raised the gun from my pocket until it was level with her face, my own face detatched from the situation and grave. For a second, it looked as though she might back off and leave me and mine in peace.

Ebony instead brought one hand down against my temple, knocking me to my side, into the snow again, and into a swift, almost blissful unconsciousness.

When I awoke, I could not for the life of me get my bearrings. I had no clue where I was-Ebony might have kidnapped me and stuck me at the bottom of the Atlantic, for all I knew. Andrew Ryan, here I come.

Shaking my head to try and clear it, I looked around-this place was unfamiliar to me. it was a plain room of white marble floors and white walls, with no windows or doors tto be seen. There was an off-white chaise lounge and a high-backed eggshell colored -to tell the truth, I try to avoid using the word 'ivory' whenever I can- armchair in one of the farthest corner from where I was situated. A small table with a glass vase filled with dark-red liquid, probably wine, was the only other touch of individuality in this white-on-white room.

"Hello?"  
My voice echoed back, unanswered, and I frowned, trying to pull myself away from the wall. Of course I couldn't, because that's the way Ebony operates, but at least I made a conscious effort.

_You're stealing another woman's man again, Ivory, aren't you?_

A voice in the back of my mind sighed this, and at the same time I felt someones breath on the nape of my neck, someones fingers combing through my hair. I twisted away from my phantom attacker, my eyes wide with shock.

"Who are you?" I demanded loudly, hoping to receive a non-cynical and straightforward answer. I received none, as I expected.

_I am you, and I am me.  
_A door appeared in the marble wall, opening out into the bright light of the day. I flinched away from it and closed my eyes, and when the light faded I saw that it was only my twin standing over my prison of a wall. She wore a white peplos secured with a silver broach over her left shoulder, and her caramel blond hair was down and curling around her shoulders. She was actually wearing a tiara in her hair.

"Oh, hello, bitch," I said to her by way of greeting, and she sneered at me.

"Skank."  
"Whore."  
"Slut."  
"_Putah,_" I sneered, and then she frowned.  
"What the hell is that?"  
"Aren't goddesses omnlingual?" I laughed bitterly. She paused for a moment and then her face grew angry and red. She strode forward to bitch-slap me, but before she could I spat in her face. Shrieking, she turned away and wiped at her cheek where I'd apparently hit her. I snickered and tugged at my invisible restraints.

She strode forward again, so full of self-confidence as she flipped her hair back from her chest like some stereotypical mean girl at some west-coast high school and crossed her arms behind her back, cocking her head to the side.

"I should just kill you now, you know," She said, running her fingers across the broad side of the dagger she'd taken out from behind her back. She walked towards me and held it against my throat, pressing enough to make me feel highly uncomfortable but not enough to actually draw any blood.

"Go on," I told her, drawing shallow breaths and trying hard not to cut my throat on her blade as her furious face found level with mine. She was shaking with rage now. "Kill me, you weak little bitch. Kill me while I'm tied down so you won't have to face me like a real warrior, you weak-willed little-"  
"Shut up!" She screamed, bringing the blade down across my cheek. I screamed out in agony as my skin split and blood streamed down my face and down into my mouth. The taste of it was metallic and bitter, and made me feel as though I might lose my lunch. What disgusted me further was the fact that Ebony's rage seemed to be giving way to interest as she watched my blood drip down onto the white marble floor, staining it deep red. She cut another slash across my other cheek and then ran her fingers down in, studying the blood with narrowed eyes. All the while I snarled curses at her and fought against restraints I could not see.

"You're going to go to hell, you bitch!" I screamed. "You sick _fucking bitch!"  
_"I told you to shut up!" She snarled, slapping me again. My blood splattered against the white-washed walls and then we fell silent spare the sound of my breathing. I glared at her and when she continued, her voice was quiet and disturbingly calm. "I just wanted to bring you here to let you know that your _saint _of a mother isn't really so perfect."  
"Really? Aria _isn't _the patron goddess of motherhood?"  
"Not Aria, you dumbass," She snapped angrily. "Helena. Our _aunt_." She spat the words. "The one who took you here. Who freed your soul from Hades and gave you human life."  
"You know, the way you describe her, she sounds pretty perfect to me," I said drolly. She glared at me and snapped at me to shut up once again. I fell silent and then she held something against my cheek that was cool like the knife, but not nearly as sharp. I frowned and she held up the small glass vial for my inspection. "What the hell are you doing with that?"  
"Do I have to gag you, or are you going to shut up on your own?"  
"Shutting up," I said innocently. "By the way, where are we?"  
"In a realm," She said, concentrating on the potion as she mixed it with some sort of a clear liquid she pulled from another pocket in the dress. Swirling it around, she continued in a distracted voice, "Somewhere outside of Kalosis. By the way, nice going trying to get to the house before me." She snorted.

"Shut up," I snapped. "Sorry if thinking about boys is better than thinking about your ugly mug."  
She laughed bitterly and then slapped me again. My ears rang. "And what a boy that is, _Ivy. _An Appolite... _And _a Dark-Hunter?"  
"Don't talk about him," I snapped. She laughed.

"Would you mind me screwing him after you're gone? Would he really notice the difference?" She grinned, showing off long white fangs. "I mean, if I hide the teeth and dress a little dowdy, I'm sure no one would be able to tell you from me. I'd give him much more fun, though, I'm sure he'd appreciate that." She laughed and then before my eyes, her hair faded to a dark brown, her teeth shrunk to a normal proportion, and the peplos became the jeans and grey sweater I'd worn the day before. She became me; a monstrous, evil me.

"If you touch him, so help me God, I will rip you in half, eat your heart out, and then sew you back together with your bones and guts on the outside for everyone to see," I hissed angrily. Ah, the joys of being the Squire of a psychopath. New, imaginative insults and threats to use on my enemies at will.  
"You should write greeting cards," She told me drolly, smirking and tussling the dark brown curls on my head. I bit at her in response and she pulled her hand back to smack me around again. I tasted my blood in my mouth and I spat it out on her.

"What the hell is that?" I snapped, narrowing my eyes at the concoction.

"It'll open your eyes," She said cynically. She forced open my mouth. "Drink up like a good little girl now, _Ivy_." Spawn's nickname for me sounded bitter and evil coming from her.  
"Fuck you," I started, and when I opened my mouth to curse her again, she forced the vial into it. I choked on the burning liquid, but I did not die, like I thought I would. Instead, I began to feel only a little drowsy, and I grinned to her, feeling victorious now. "It didn't work, moron-I'm not dead..."  
She looked down at me, seemingly filled with disgust. "I'm not going to poison you, you bitch. You don't deserve that mercy. And you know, I was going to show you Helen's past to try and hurt you, but the way you just reacted about your Hunter... I know what will hurt you more." She winked and grinned again. "Sweet dreams, sister."  
I meant to finish the promise of pain and death aimed at her, but I didn't have the time before the blackness overtook me again.

I awoke in a new setting, blinking and shivering, squinting in the darkness to try and find some marker of where I might be. I saw nothing at first, but as my eyes adjusted, I saw two black leather couches positioned at a 90 degree angle apart from one another, a coffee table, a large mantled fireplace, and the blackout-curtained window which I knew looked out at the driveway. Breathing a sigh of relief, I continued to scan the living room for any sign of life.

"Hello?" I called as I stood on uneasy legs and made my way into the kitchen. Spawn was there, pouring boiling water into one of the mugs on the marble counter. He looked up when I walked into the room but made no comment.

"Uh, sorry about earlier..." I began awkwardly, twirling my hair around my finger and looking away again.

"It's fine." His voice was short and held no sign of warmth whatsoever. This wasn't the Spawn I knew, and I frowned at this stranger with his face, stepping forward to take a closer look. He didn't look sick and what I'd done hadn't exactly been shun-worthy. It had been an accident. So what was wrong with him?

"Hey, are you okay?" I laid the back of my hand on his cheek and he pushed my wrist away, turning back to the cup on the counter. I felt my heart stop for a second there, and then I regained my composure. "Did I do something else wrong? I apologized. That should be enough." My voice was quickly becoming angry and very, very loud. No, Ivory, calm down. Calm, you don't know that he's-  
"Ivory, keep your voice down." _Oh, really? _  
"Don't tell me what to do!" I yelled.

"Stop- just stop. Don't act like you're attached to me." His voice was cold again, and then there were tears in my eyes as I saw red when he finished his sentence.

"I am, for the time being!" I exploded, and there was a burning sensation behind my eyes that usually didn't happen. I rubbed my eyes and bit back a cry at the agony I was feeling. I looked up, and when I saw him flinch I knew my eyes were red again. Funny that fighting with my sister and ex hadn't caused my eyes to redden, but a little argument with Spawn turned them red almost instantly. "Listen, apparently you're not very happy with that, but-"  
"I didn't say that."  
"You sure as hell implied it," I snapped. "But as soon as Zarek gets a new cabin, I can just get out of your hai-" I paled. "What time is it?"  
"Six. I was just getting ready to leave." I froze.  
"We have to get Zarek." He looked a little surprised.

"Why?"  
"Ebony burned down his house trying to smoke me out, and I left him in the catacombs when I came to get help," I paused to glare at him, "And I've been comatose for couple of hours. He probably thinks I'm dead, or something."  
"Get your coat on, then," He said in that same bored tone. I glared at him, hurting more than I'd like to admit, and then I spun on my heel to retrieve my boots and coat for the hallway. I pulled them on roughly, ignoring the redness of my irises and the bump on my forehead from where Ebony had hit me that were both reflected in the mirror by the coat rack. Continuing to glare even out of his line of vision, I fixed my hair and tried to ignore what she'd said about becoming me after I was dead. I wasn't going to think about that now. Not while I was still alive.

"Should we take Nikitas?" I called into the room. He appeared in the doorway and looked back up the stairs. He was silent, and I put my hands on my hips. "Uh, you remember him, right? Small human, blond, blue eyed, who we are caring for at the time being?"  
He blinked, looking a little surprised. "Yeah, and no. He's sleeping." I heard a voice from upstairs.  
"He doesn't sound asleep," I countered, unconvinced.

"Can we just leave now?" He asked, looking a little anxious. I frowned at him, zipping my jacket closed and untucking my hair from my collar.

"Why so eager to leave?" I inquired, opening the front door and letting in the cold air. Spawn would not answer me as he pulled me outside, taking a grip on my hand-which honestly surprised me, given his attitude for the past few minutes towards me- and leading the way towards the black SUV, probably not the hot-wired one. He unlocked my door, and then his, and I sat in silent contemplation for a minute until he opened his door. It had barely slammed shut when he pulled me against him, finding my lips and kissing me passionately, and my heart soared again. I still pushed him away angrily, though, a little bit confused.

"I'm glad you're safe," He told me, sounding a bit breathless but still more like himself than before. I frowned, trying to judge whether his tone held any sarcasm or not.  
"What is _wrong _with you?" I demanded in an angry voice. He moved to touch my cheek and, as a angry comeback for what he'd done earlier, I pushed him away. Spawn honestly looked a little hurt, and I took pity on him, leaning forward to kiss him again. He pulled away first and glared up at his house.  
"Your friend, Jen- the one who you thought betrayed you?" I nodded and he continued. "She showed up at the house a few hours ago, looking for you. She said that she couldn't find Zarek's cabin and knew that you'd been staying with me. She explained the whole situation to me-with the phone calls- and she's the one who found you."  
"What do you mean, she 'explained the situation' to you?"  
"She couldn't have talked to you on her home phone in Florida- She was on the plane coming up here all yesterday. I would know if she'd been lying." He brushed the hair back from my forehead and ran his hand down my cheek soothingly. "It wasn't her."  
I was relieved, but there were still some things left unanswered. "So what did that have to do with the nasty attitude towards me?" I frowned crossing my arms. He sighed.

"She's upstairs with Nikitas." I froze.

"Are you _sure_ she's not dangerous?"  
"I don't know, Ivory-you've been her best friend since before you became a Squire. _Is _she dangerous?"  
"I don't know any more," I replied honestly. He looked a little saddened.

"She doesn't mean him any harm. But she's watching both of us closely-very closely. When she found you in the snow and brought you inside, I admit I reacted in a way that-well, in a way most Hunters don't react when just any humans are hurt. She's suspicious about what's going on between us." He looked down. "I don't want you to get into trouble over me."  
"We've not done anything wrong!" My voice was indignant and I glared up at the house too. "And even if I did, well...you're worth it, Spawn." He smiled up at me and I smiled back, feeling a little shy at admitting that. Damn my emotions, always getting in the way of everything.

When the car began to move and the radio crackled to life, I heard only static. Fiddling with the controls to find a station, I listened as talk stations, pop stations, and the Mexican channel flew past. Not really sure what I was looking for, I settled on an unfamiliar station when I heard a few familiar lines of a Frank Sinatra song.

I sang along quietly, tapping out the beat on my knees. I looked back over at Spawn and smiled, and when he gave me an almost sad smile I stopped. "Are you going to be an ass to me in front of Jen from now on?" I asked him suddenly. He looked a little surprised.

"No. I just got a little carried away. I was worried about her finding out- it's better to be a little cold as opposed to acting like we're...well, you know." His surprise faded to an almost ashamed look as he turned away, focusing his attention back on the road. "Sorry."  
"It's alright-but if you're ever mean to me like that, or talk to me like that again, I can promise I'm just going to kick your ass. No notice will be given."  
"I have no doubt that you would do just that," I grinned again, and he smiled, squeezing my hand. I sighed, my hand still in his as I leaned against the window, closing my eyes and smiling blissfully.

"What was it like for you, being an Appolite?" I asked suddenly. My eyes were still closed, so I was met with silence, and he took his hand from mine. I opened my eyes again to see him watching the road, his grip on the steering wheel tight. I looked up at him, red eyes wide with worry, and I touched his arm. The muscles tensed beneath my hand, through the black fabric of his tee shirt, and we were both silent for a moment.

"Why do you ask?" I shrugged, honestly not sure why I asked. But I didn't know much about Daimon/Appolite lore-I wasn't a Dark-Hunter. Squires didn't really tend to know much beyond the blond, tall, fanged thing.

"I just want to know. I mean, my childhood wasn't something out of a Norman Rockwell, but what was it like for you growing up with that?"  
"You say it like it was some sort of a disease, Ivy." His voice was a little bitter, and I shrugged it away once more.

"Some might call it that. I wouldn't have reacted well to it, I can tell you that. I mean, being banned from the sunlight, having to drink someone elses' blood to survive, dying so young..." I trailed off, watching him and wincing when I realizing my error. "You know, I think I might just shut up now."  
"I didn't know any better," He finally told me quietly. "I was born long after Apollo's curse on our kind. I just stayed out of the sunlight and drank what I thought was normal- I knew I was going to die, and I must say, for a while I was angry. Eventually I accepted it, though; after I met..." It was his turn to trail off into silence, and I turned away, pleading with my features to show no jealousy.

"Your wife?"

"Yes."  
I was silent for a second as I mulled this over. "Were you happy when you were alive?" I asked after an extensive silence.

"Of course. I had a wife who loved me, and beautiful children..." He looked over to me, his eyes pained. "I'm not going to lie to you. I miss them still-I'm not ashamed to admit it."  
I met his gaze levely. "I wouldn't expect you to be ashamed. You loved them. It shows-they were very lucky to have you."  
"I was blessed with them for a brief time," He said quietly. I took his hand, silent. I didn't know how to respond to this. He obviously still loved them all very much. I would expect as much, if they were the reason he became a Hunter. He became an executioner to his own kind to avenge their demise. They must have meant the world to the man.

I couldn't bring myself to feel jealous or hurt. No way I was hurting more than Spawn was right now.

"Zarek?" I called softly into the darkness The cabin that used to be his home was little more than a blackened and charred wreck, and I worried for his safety. If he was dead, I'd be in trouble, that's for sure.  
There was no reply, but I walked further into the darkness anyway, abandoning Spawn, and then I found the secret passageway down into the abyss. Looking back to make sure I wasn't being followed, I slipped down and fell into the ashes of his humble home.

Spitting ashes from my mouth and wiping at it as I grimaced in disgust, I stood again and brushed coal off of my knees. I continued to hunt for Zarek, calling his name through the catacombs. I stopped when I turned and saw a clean white piece of paper taped to one of the bookshelves. Below it was a book, which I picked up along with the note.

**Ivory:**

**If you're still alive and reading this, just so you know, I went out to patrol the areas for that bitch sister of yours. I have a bone to pick with her. If you're not, well, it doesn't matter. Hold onto this for me, I'll stop by your place later to pick it up.**

**...thanks.**

**-Z**

I scanned the note and then looked down at the book in my possession-it was the worn and dog-eared publication of The Little Prince that he had risked so much to save. This wasn't a book I'd expect Zarek to identify with- for all I knew, it was a children's book. But still, it almost touched me that he'd trust it to me.  
Placing it carefully in my pocket, wrapped up in the note, I started back towards the remnants of the cabin. Spawn was at the opening of the abyss, leaning against the stove that had been shoved away to reveal the opening.

He offered me a hand and then pulled me up effortlessly, and I handed him the note when I was safely on the surface again. Reading it quickly, he frowned.  
"What is he talking about?"  
I shrugged. "There was nothing there," I lied. "Just the note."

"Liar."  
"No."  
"Uh-huh..."  
"What, was it something weird? A photo album full of pictures of dead bodies?"  
"Exactly, Spawn. I have a large photo album of pictures tucked in my jacket." I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes. "Honestly, boy, get some sense."  
"Well, this _is _Zarek we're talking about." He raised an eyebrow and I sighed.

"True, but he's innocent. No bodies here."  
"That we know of," He muttered, and I lightly pushed him away, shaking my head.  
"You are such a jerk," I sighed, still shaking my head and smiling. He shrugged and didn't deny it.

I had just turned away to walk back towards the car when I felt a hand slip into my pocket. I looked down in shock in time to see Spawn pull the small black book from my coat and rush away from me. I chased after him, desperate to keep the secret of Zarek's book, and I snatched at the book as he held it aloft, much higher than my grasping hands so that he could read it but I had no hope of taking it. Damn him for being 6'7".

"The Little Prince?" He laughed, spinning around to keep me from jumping up like a little rabid dog to rip it from his grasp. I resisted the urge to knee him in the crotch and just take the book when he doubled over in agony. "Ivy, is this yours?"  
"Give it back!" I demanded hopelessly, feeling a bit like a bullied child at recess; but I know it would be worse for Zarek if I didn't get that book back before Spawn realized who it really belonged to. "Spawn! Really, give me that back!"

"This is a children's book, Ivy, why are you-" His face became surprised when he read what was presumably a name scrawled on the front page. My face fell, Zarek's secret lost; and then he surprised me by handing it back to me without saying a word. I looked up at him- his face was an emotionless mask again.  
I put the book back in my pocket silently and held out my hand. After a brief second of hessitation he took it and we walked back towards the SUV, the scent of sulfur thick in the air.

"Where do you usually patrol?" I asked quietly. He shrugged.

"I usually stick to Fairbanks, sometimes the outlying communities," He told me nonchalantly. I thought for a second before I spoke again.

"Will you get in terrible trouble if you go zombie hunting with me instead?" I asked innocently. He frowned, and it was a minute or so before he responded.

"I think I might."  
"Well, I can't really go Daimon hunting right now- it would be kind of wierd, since they're fighting on my side in this- so I guess you're just going to have to drop me off somewhere else."  
"Can't I just take you back home?" He pleaded. I shook my head.  
"I have to practice fighting on _something_," I reasoned.

"I thought you couldn't practice on Daimons."  
"Not Daimons, darling, zombies."  
"'Darling'?" He laughed questioningly. I shrugged and pulled my hand from his to wrap my arm around his waist.  
"I figure if you can give me a nickname, you need one too."  
"Not 'darling', though," He told me, shaking his head. I smiled.

"Why not?"  
"It's girly."  
"It's cute."  
"Say that in front of Zarek and I'll never live it down."  
"Do you care?"  
"Yes."  
"Well, there 'Lucy'..."  
"That's better than 'Darling'."  
"It's girlier."  
He sighed. "Am I going to win this?"  
"No. I have brothers, and they trained me so well that now I can argue with pretty much anything. I can argue a point six ways to Sunday and pretty much confuse the hell out of whoever was debating with me in the first place," I told him with a smile. "But hey, if you're attatched to the name 'Lucy', we can keep that. Whatever floats your boat, buddy."  
He gave me an irritated look and I pulled him closer with ain innocent smile. I froze when I felt something odd on his left side through the fabric of his jacket. He froze too, and I unzipped his jacket and pulled it open, and uncertainly he began, "Ivory..."  
"Shut up."  
I ripped his shirt up over his head and ran my hand down his side again. Sure enough, I found what I was looking for. There were four of them, all perfectly round and each about the same size, and the skin around them was healing, but not healed entirely yet.  
Bullet holes.

"Did you get _shot?" _I exclaimed as he pulled his shirt back down and zipped his jacket up to his throat. His eyes were cold again and I hated that. I touched his side again and he jumped slightly.

"If I did, do you think touching the wounds will help them heal?" He snapped in irritation. My face must have betrayed my hurt, because he sighed and pulled me close again, holding me tightly. "Sorry, Ivy. I just didn't want you to know."  
"Why?" I asked quietly. "Maybe I can help."  
"How?"  
"I have my powers back. I can help." I nodded and rested my hands on his side, but he took both my hands in his and pushed them away from him gently, shaking his head.  
"I don't want you to try."  
"Why not?" I demanded.

"Well, for one thing, you might end up just like chopping off my arm or something-you're not totally the master of your powers just yet. Also, I'll heal in like a day or so. I don't want you to waste your powers on me." I frowned at him.

"When did you get shot?"  
"A few days ago."  
"Did you clean the wound?"  
"Yes, ma'am, the bullets are gone." He gave me a smirk. "Funny, you don't strike me as a nurse."  
"Shut up." I pushed him lightly. "Who shot you?"  
"Going to go on a vendetta on my behalf? I'm flattered."  
"Tell me who shot you before I just pull the name out of your mind and give you a taste of your own damn medicine."  
"Are you reading minds now?"

"You better believe it, buster." I grinned and crossed my arms. "Now, name, please; or I'm going to go digging in your mind to find it myself."  
"I'm not sure who it was. It was just some Daimon, no big deal." My smile faded as I remembered the sound of a gunshot in the distance, and the phantom pain creeped back into my leg. I watched him with wide red eyes.

"You got shot saving Sharon, didn't you?" He was silent, and I continued to watch him. He looked away and his hand flew to his side, while he remained mute. To try and get him to talk, I took one of his hands in mine until he looked up at me again, and then he sighed.

"Yes. But I'm fine now."  
"You have four bullet holes in your hip."  
"Ribs, actually, and one flew right past my stomach. But no, nurse Saint-John, I heal faster than humans do and the wounds will be gone in a day at most." He in turn took my hand and raised it to his lips. "Don't worry on my behalf. I'm not worth your worry."  
"Of course you are," I said before I could censor the words that my heart said and my mouth was not supposed to say. I regained my cool and smiled slightly, hoping it was a cute smile and not an oh-my-god-I'm-an-obsessive-freak smile. You know, the one that serial killers almost _always _give their victims in movies, the wide-eyed grin with the creepy...

Ah well. You understand what I'm talking about. But it didn't appear to be that kind of a smile, because I got a nice, normal one in return.

"What did I do to deserve someone like you?" He laughed softly. I shrugged.

"Maybe you killed someone really important in your past life and you're paying for it now," I offered, and he laughed at this, too. I was glad to see him so lighthearted. I seldom saw lighthearted Dark-Hunters; usually they were pretty creepy or really serious.  
"We should go, now- the zombies await." Damn. There was the stupid serious side again. My displeasure must have shown on my face, because he smiled and put an arm around me. Well, it was either that or the fact that I growled low in my throat like some sort of rabid animal. "Unless you want to go home..." He looked a little hopeful that I'd back down, but I shook my head determinedly.  
"Well, I can't let the zombies down now, can I?" I sighed. "Take me to them."

I giggled like a little kid when the zombie burst into a fine golden powder like a Daimon. We'd found them in a regular Daimon hotspot, scoping out another bar on one of Fairbanks' main roads, and obviously these ones were new, because it only took a few stabs to the chest with a knife to finish them off. They swirled around in the snow like pixie dust, and I laughed again at the Disney analogy.  
My laughter stopped when I started choking on the gold powder and it got in my eyes. Then it stopped being funny and got irritating. Spawn sighed and walked over to me, taking my knife from me.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking less than pleased. I nodded.

"Fine and dandy," I replied bitterly, rubbing at my eyes. He rolled his eyes and I glowered back up at him, sticking my tongue out. He laughed again and picked up one of the throwing knives off the ground, where it had been sticking in a zombie's chest before its disintigration, offering it back to me. I took it and glared at him again. "Just choking on the ashy remains of a zombie's corpse. No big deal."  
"Of course not," He replied in a bored tone, smiling widely now. He reached over to brush something off my hair, and I saw more gold dust sparkle down to the ankle-high new snow. I smiled up to him and he leaned down to kiss my cheek, and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and gave him a real kiss.

There was a cough from behind us and I pulled away from him, growling again before I turned on whoever had interrupted us. I froze when I saw Zarek, and he pretty much did the same thing. Oh, god. He'd seen us kissing. We were _so _freaking dead.

We all were silent, my hand in Spawn's, Zarek less than a yard away from us. He wore a black ski jacket and black jeans tucked into Harley Davidson boots, and his silver claw flashed under the almost-full moon's glow.

"Uh..." I began, and Zarek held up a hand, his eyes closed and his head bowed. We were all silent for a minute and I looked to Spawn uncertainly. He was very pale and appeared to be shaking, though whether it was out of shock or rage was yet to be seen.  
Zarek's eyes were still closed when I appreached him and put his copy of The Little Prince in his hands. His ebony eyes opened again and he studied it for a second.

"I got your note," I told him softly. "Why did you leave the book?"  
"I wanted to see if you were actually coming back, or if you'd just died."  
"Ebony could have found it," I told him.  
"She would have just burned it. She doesn't strike me as the brightest match in the matchbook, so probably not a reader, either."  
I shrugged. "I got the brains, I guess."  
"I guess." He cleared his throat again and absentmindedly flexed his claws. I felt Spawn's grip on my hand tighten slightly, and I looked back at him, shaking my head softly.

What Zarek said next shocked both of us, I'm sure. "I'm not going to tell on you."  
"What?"  
"You two." He nodded to me, and then to Spawn who remainded cold and indifferent but who still held onto my hand protectively. "Whatever you have going on with each other."  
"We're noth-"  
"Bullshit, Ivory, I know it when I see it. You two are...something." He waved his hand at us and then shrugged. "I'm not going to play snitch and run to Artemis, and if they ask, I never saw anything that pegged you as anything but Squire and Hunter. I doubt Acheron'll tell either-he's an ass, but I'm pretty sure he has a heart."  
"I'm your Squire," I said quietly, looking down to the snowy ground.

"Yeah, but he treats you better."

"I'm _your _Squire," I told him more forcefully. His black eyes met my ruby ones.  
"And you don't want to be." His voice was painfully obvious and, what he said might have been true, once. As it was, I knew now that Zarek, too, had a heart.

"I don't mind being your Squire. Not anymore, at least. I mean, you used to be pretty irritating, but I've pretty much gotten used to you now."  
He smirked and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could he fell to the snowy street with an 'omph!'. I jumped back and noted with some shock that his chest was smoldering and there was a hole through his black sweater, and it was then that I knew what had happened.

"Get down!" I screamed to Spawn, looking around for the source.

And then I found it, smirking back at me from across the street.

My sister.

A/N:

We had an assignment in one of our classes to try and read as many classic novels as we could. One night, while scanning the bookshelves in my parent's living room, I found a small paperback copy of The Little Prince. Having read about it in Dance With The Devil, I was thrilled to have the chance to read it.

I sat down and read it in about an hour, from 11:00 PM to 12:00 AM one night. It's a little simple, but very cute; I see how Zarek identified with it, and it had a powerful message for being only 111 pages long. And I see why he loved the book; I fell in love with that little melancholy children's book and adore the little prince at its center and the love he felt for his little rose. If you haven't read it,_ would you kindly _do so?

Just thought ya'll should know.

Much love,

Kae


	15. Best Friends Forever Or Maybe Not

We got Zarek back to Spawn's house almost an hour later- he outright refused to be carried, so the walk back to the car took forever. My sister had dissapeared almost as soon as I spotted her, saying nothing and hitting no one else, and I was honestly relieved; I didn't know what I would have done with two unconscious Dark-Hunters, if she'd decided to hit Spawn, and if she hit me I probably would have just died. I wasn't really ready to do that just yet.

"This would have worked better if you'd let Spawn carry you," I told Zarek as he limped hardheadedly to the house. He ignored me and continued to walk up to the front steps, and I was on his heels.

"And if I refused to carry him?" Spawn inquired. I gave him a dark, _don't go there _kind of a look and he shut up. Smart boy.

"Unlock the door," Grunted Zarek, sounding pained. I hastened to obey and when the door swung open, I saw a light in the kitchen. I tensed at the sound of foot steps before remembering that Jen had shown up a few hours earlier, and as Zarek colapsed against the bottom stairs she entered the foyer.

Jen was just as I remembered her-long, lean body that was now clad in a light blue sweater and blue jeans, her cornsilk blond hair falling around her angel's features. Her skin was blemish free and smooth, and she had inquisitive aquamarine eyes that flashed with surprise when she knelt beside Zarek's unconscious form.

Brushing a hand over his brow, she frowned at me. "What happened to him? And why were you hunting Daimons with them?"  
"I just-I ran into them," I lied. She raised a delicate light brown brow.

"Both of them?" She asked, a smile playing on pink lips. I twisted a column of my own dark brown hair around my finger as I shrugged.

"I called Spawn to help me when Zarek got attacked. He offered to let him stay here while he recoups- someone burned down his cabin this morning. I'm staying here, too, so...yeah." I trailed off, shrugging again, sort of feeling a little inferior under her scrutinizing blue gaze. She pushed her hair back and frowned, still looking at me strangely. I raised my eyebrows. "What?"  
"Nothing," She said slowly. "There's food in the kitchen."  
"Food?" I inquired stupidly.

"Hunters need to eat after they go on their patrols," She said again in the same slow voice, her Ivory-Might-Be-Crazy voice. Believe me, that voice had been used before, and in many a context. "They eat three meals a day, like humans, and usually their _squires _take care of that for them." She crossed her arms and frowned at me again.

"Oh." I looked down again, to where she was tending the burn wound in Zarek's chest. "Uh, Spawn, you should go eat."  
Nodding, he walked into the kitchen, giving me a worried backwards glance. I nodded back and gave him what I hoped looked like an encouraging smile, and he nodded again faintly, looking to the part of the kitchen that was out of Jen's line of vision. I glanced back at Jen and then silently slipped past her.  
He pulled me into the shadows and I stifled a gasp of what might have been surprise. Physical affection around a fellow Suire-and a gung-ho rule junkie at that- was sort of a really stupid idea. He pulled me close and kissed me anyway, holding me close. I rested my head on his chest when I pulled away again.

_If there's anything you don't want to say in front of the Squire, just think it, alright? _He thought. _  
_I nodded. _Alright, but I'm a Squire too, you know. And by the way, she has a name._

He cracked a smile at that. _Yes, she does, and no, you're not- you're a goddess.  
_I glared at him and shook my head. _Don't say that. I'm just Ivory. Ivory the Squire._

_ Right. _He raised a brow. _I mean, it's not like you offered to fix my wounds with magical goddess-y powers or anything. _

I continued to glare and he winked at me, brushing my hair back from my eyes and leaning down to kiss me quickly again. He pulled away half a second before Jen walked into the room, giving us both a smile. It was an innocent smile, not the kind of smile she'd give us if she had caught us kissing.

"There's soup on the stove," She said sweetly, and he nodded while I dashed for the meal. I stopped short when I caught her irritated look, my hand outstretched for the soup.  
"What?"  
"That's for Spawn, Ivory, not for you." She sighed and then glanced over at Spawn as if embarassed on my behalf. "He's the one who's been hunting all night."  
"Ivory was out there, too, and she probably fought just as many as I did." His voice had become low and protective, and his eyes were narrowed. She had her head turned to me, so I shook mine frantically, trying desperately to make him drop the macho protective act. He glanced back at me and then relaxed, though his eyes stayed cold. "Humans eat too, you know."  
"I know," She said, blinking back her own surprise.

"Y'know, I'm not so hungry after all..." I trailed off, pushing my hair back out of my eyes. "I think I might go get some sleep..."  
Both nodded, though only Spawn looked worried as he watched me. _You okay?_

_ Fine. Just had a long day, that's all.  
You sure?  
Absolutely. _I managed a light smile. _Go get something to eat, I'll be upstairs if you need me. You know where to find me if you can get away from your new Squire.  
_"Alright," He said aloud, smiling only faintly. "Good night, Ivory."  
"'Night." I nodded to him. "Night, Jen."  
She nodded coldly and turned back to talk to Spawn, and he listened politely as he got his food, glancing back at me as I climbed the stairs. Out of her line of vision, I blew him a kiss and smiled faintly. He smiled back, nodding, and then turned back to the Squire to answer whatever question she'd asked him.

I made my way to the bedroom I'd been sharing with Nikitas, opening the door slowly as to not wake him if he was sleeping. I glanced about the room to see if he was asleep, and then I grabbed my clothing and toiletries before setting out to find a bathroom.  
Several doors and a few minutes later, I found the luxurious and well-furnished bathroom, which had a claw-footed white bathtub and was pained a sky blue. The medicine cabinet, I noticed, had nothing on its shelves spare a toothbrush, tooth paste, bandages and ibuprofen. I silently put my toiletries on the shelf and retrieved a towel before turning to draw a bath, waiting on the side of the tub while the water filled the tub.

I locked the door and tested the water before slipping into the bath. I sighed deeply and closed my eyes as the water burned my skin, and I kept my eyes closed as I submerged my face in the hot water.

I hummed silently under my breath as I considered the water and my evil sister's power over fire. It would be really freakin' cool if I had the same power over water.  
I concentrated on the water and held up my hands as if to command it with my mind, trying to control the liquid the same way I'd controled teleportation earlier. I laughed at the fact that I looked like a moron and gave up.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, letting my hair fan out around my shoulders. Today had been a psychotic mess. Tomorrow might be worse.

Zarek had lost his cabin- and it had beeen my fault. Jen was here, and watching me like a hawk. Nikitas' mother was in the back of my head, and I was still sort of suspicious about her intentions. Nikitas had come back to life because of his mother's murder-a murder I'd committed. Ebony was gunning for me and was willing to kill anyone to get to me.

Jesus. Life was just unicorns and rainbows, wasn't it?  
I was not going to worry about that now. This was my time. I was going to have five minutes of calm and quiet before being shoved head-first back into the chaos.

I continued to hum under my breath as I washed my hair, willing my mind to become empty of all of the stressful crap in my life. Calm like a river. A roaring, white-water rafting river, maybe, but a river nontheless. That was pretty much the best I could do at the moment-oh, well.

I traced the edge of the bath tub and then rested my cheek against its cool side, brushing my hair out of my face again and closing my eyes. God, I was so exhausted. I could fall asleep right here and...

And then the door opened. I sank down into the water and watched with wide eyes as someone entered the room.

I was surpised to see Zarek up and about, but then again, he was a Hunter. They tended to heal faster than the average human.

He glanced around and then looked into the mirror. I thought he might have been having a strange, self-loving moment, until I realized that he was checking out the scar that she burn had left on his chest. Zarek poked it and winced, and I snorted.  
The hunter wheeled around, and when he saw that I was in the bath he turned away with a shout. "Make yourself known next time!" He shouted.

"Hopefully there's not going to be a next time," I retorted. He covered his eyes.

"I don't think there will be, because I think I might be blind." I stuck my tongue out at him and he shuddered quietly. I considered throwing the bar of soap at him, but he'd probably catch it with his stupid telekinesis and send it right back to me. So I sunk deeper into the water and crossed my arms over my chest.

"You know, you should, like, leave. I think you should leave. Go get some sleep or something. Or just, you know, leave."  
"Why did you save me?" He asked suddenly. I frowned at him, and he continued. "I mean, when that bitch attacked me. You could have just left me there and saved yourself and your boyfriend, but you stayed. Why?"  
I shrugged and the motion sent ripples through the water. "I don't leave friends behind, I guess."  
"We're not friends. I don't _have_ any friends."  
"Notice the fact that I didn't leave you behind."

He was silent, but after a moment, he spoke again. His voice was quiet and a bit uncertain. "I'll just let you get back to your bath. See you later."  
"Okay. And Zarek?" He turned and I made sure I was decent before I spoke again. "I am really glad you're alright."  
Zarek didn't respond as he turned around again and shut the door, leaving me in the quiet.

After nearly falling asleep several times, I finished my bath and then dressed again, leaving the bathroom as I had found it and making my way back towards my room. I slipped silently down the hall like a phantom until someone brushed up against me. I turned with a gasp and was relieved to see Jen.

"Hey," I said with a smile. Her eyes were cold.  
"You are very unprofessional," She snapped. I froze.  
"What?"  
"You're not even this Dark-Hunter's Squire. Why are you here?"  
"I don't know," I said drolly, crossing my arms. "Maybe because my Dark-Hunters house burned at my psycho sister's hands?"  
"And whose fault is that?"  
"Hers," I snapped back. Right when I thought I might snap and throw her down the stairs, another door at the end of the hall opened and out walked Spawn, who stopped short and frowned at us, He had been in the process of pulling on his jacket, and I saw one of the handguns in his pocket.

"Uh, should I leave?" He asked me innocently. I glared at my once-best friend.  
"No. I was just going back to my room." I sighed wearily and looked at him. "Where are you going, anyway?"  
"Going to do my job," He said shortly, glancing over at Jen, whose face had become cold and distant. "What I'm _supposed _to do." He gave me a meaningful look and I quirked an eyebrow.

_ Not like you sound bitter or anything, but... _ I gave him a meaningful look of my own. He shrugged and slipped past us to walk down the stairs, ignoring my comment. I rolled my eyes at his bitchiness.

_I heard that. _  
_Good! _I snapped. I couldn't see his facial expression, but I heard his laugh. I grit my teeth and glared at Jen.

"Am I being formally charged with anything?" I hissed. She shook her head and looked a little bored. "Good. Then I'm going to leave. Have a nice night, Jennifer."  
_Ivy, please try to play nice with her. That's all I meant, okay?  
Fine. Yeah. Whatever.  
Ivy..._

_ I'll play nice. Just be careful, alright? _

_ Alright. See you later. _

I heard the front door slam at the same time I shut the door to my bedroom. I made sure that Nikitas was still asleep and snoring before I changed into my pajamas and kicked away my towel, colapsing onto the bed. Jesus. Another damned day, and another coming tomorrow. I took a deep breath and willed myself to sleep. Sleep, act like nothing's bothering you...

Yeah, right. That was going to work.

What was it that Ebony had said to me earlier? I couldn't recall. Something about being weak? Maybe I was. This was my weakest time, and I wasn't really up to fighting right now. Maybe she'd bust through the wall and zap me with a ray gun.

And maybe I'd be okay with that. I mean, she'd won anyway. The Daimons were going to keep killing and she was going to get more and more brainwashed recruits each time that they did.

I shook my head. "I'm not going to die," I whispered softly. "I'm going to live. Not die."  
I gave into exhaustion, the words still echoing in my brain, and as my eyes closed, I thought that I could almost believe them.

It was my own memory that I found myself falling into, falling into a light powdery blanket of snow. I couldn't feel the surface of it, though-it was just soft, not cold. I looked up to see a wooded area that surrounded me, and I frowned. This wasn't Alaska, this looked like the top of a mountain somewhere. I could see all of the mountains around me and the last remaining rays of sunlight leaving the land.

The sun had set and the colors around me were fading and slowly the woods were reverting into a mysterious nighttime state. I was on edge-until I saw a six-year old me run past, towards an icolated little cabin on the horizon. I gasped as the memory came back to me. My parents used to take us on vacation to this little ski town outside of Denver. None of my siblings had understood, nor had I, but we'd gone faithfully every winter, from the day after we were released from school up until the day before we returned to class. We'd continued to do so until mom's death, and I had not returned since then.

This had been my sixth winter, and my sixth trip to Phantis, which was the name of the little main-street-and-a-few-rental-cabins town. I had explored the woods by day with my older brothers, forging forts and stockpiling snowballs, and spent the nights hearing stories told around the fire with hot chocolate balanced on my little knee. Norman Rockwell, right? Right.  
Rising quickly and not bothering to dust the snow off of my clothing, I followed the six-year-old me down the hill, through the forested area below, to a small clearing. I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to find. Maybe a body. Maybe millions in gold dabloons.

Instead of either of these things, which would have actually both been really cool to find, I found a small, modest brown cabin that seemed to be falling apart and sagging under the weight of the snow. I frowned at it-in all of my memories of Phantis, never had this sad old cabin appeared. What was it doing here now? Had it always been here, or was this just something that my sister had put into my dreams to throw me off?  
Nevertheless, I followed the little me as she stomped through the fresh snow towards it, and it was then that I realized that in this dream, I couldn't see me. If that makes any sense. So when I approached the window and peered inside, my mother and the Daimon couldn't see me.

I gasped and jumped back. It couldn't be right-that wasn't my mother. She must have an evil twin, too. It wasn't her-my saintly mother would never cavort with an evil soul-sucking demon. I closed my eyes to try and clear my mind of the picture, but instead I found myself _inside _of the cabin. I heard my mother's voice and then covered my face with my hands, closing my eyes and shaking my head.

This went against everything I could have ever believed in. My mother didn't socialize with Daimons. She couldn't.

_She's a godess, they can do whatever they want..._ My brow knit in a glare and I told the sensible part of my brain to shut up. I looked up when my mother began to speak, her voice sharper and colder than I'd ever heard it.

"You shouldn't have had me come here. My husband is suspicious already, and if he returns and I am absent, it will only confirm his suspicions."  
"You had to come here. I need answers." The tall, handsome demon-thing raked his hands through his hair, a nervous habit that I actually shared with him.

"Ask your questions, then." My mother took a seat in an old chair, and I looked around the dark, dank room. It was less furnished that Zarek's cabin had been- a chair and a small table were in its center, and there was a small bed with old greying sheets across it near where my escence rested. Overall, the place was just as depressing on the inside as it was on the outside.

"You lied to me."  
"No, I did not-I told you that you could ask your questions." My mother's voice was cool and rational and she folded her hands in her lap, looking regal and very haughty. The Daimon took to pacing the floor, cutting her glares every so often as he walked to and fro.

"You said that you lost the baby. You said that it was better that way- you were married and I was almost twenty-seven. You told me that you wanted nothing from me. But now that I've seen that child..." He pointed to her accusingly. "That girl of yours is _mine, _isn't she? Don't lie to me, Helen. I know it is. Though you've disguised it mostly, given her the ability to walk in daylight with your powers and hidden her fangs and lust for blood, she is half Appolite. I know it." He raked his hands through his hair again. My mother was silent.

"She is not. My Ivory is not half Appolite, she is as human as her father."  
"_I am her father!" _He roared, throwing his hands up. "It is so _obvious! _That little girl is practically my mirror image, and I bet that any Appolite who meets her will know what she is! She is the bastard child of a fallen goddess and an Appolite. She is _mine!_"  
I was watching them with my mouth agape. They were talking about me. Being the child of an Appolite. Who was now a Daimon. My father. It couldn't be, never. No, he wasn't my father. He was crazy.

"Yes," My mother said wearily. "I brought her here, every year, to make her known to your people, your family-but never really to you. Still, she needs the protection of the stronger half of her family. She is half Appolite. She needs her people if she is to survive."  
"What about your younger daughter?"  
My mother frowned. "It is my daughter's true sister who was born again into this life to be with her sister- I never truly birthed her. She is not yours. Nor are my sons. After Ivory was concieved, I became merely a human carrying a goddess' child. I am such now, and thus are my other children."  
"Ivory was born after them, though," He noted. She shrugged.  
"It was her soul that I was trying for," She told him. "It had to be re-awoken by the blood and soul of one of the Sun God's damned children. That was why it was not to be my husband's."  
"You used me," He accused. She shrugged again.

"And of it, both of our lines are continued and my sister stays imprisoned," She reasoned in a bored tone.

"She is my child, but she is raised by another, thousands of miles from me," He snapped bitterly. "Why should I protect her? I should kill her and take her soul as payment for your deceit."  
"I thought Daimons who killed their own were frowned upon in Appolite culture," She said in the same irritated tone. His eyes narrowed.

"You _owe _me," He reminded her. She shrugged again.

"She's your child," She reminded him in turn. She stood and placed a hand on his bicep. "Could you honestly kill your own child?"  
At this precise moment, the door opened with a tiny groan and the Little Six Year Old Me peered into the imposing darkness with wide, scared grey eyes. In my invisible state I mouthed the words _no no no no... _as my eyes grew wider and my hands flew to my mouth.

The Daimon-I just realized, I don't even know my father's name, how sad is that?- turned to my mother with an evil kind of a smile, his eyes narrowing as he looked back to the little me.

"Yes," He told her, his voice a deep, ferral growl, and then he lunged for me.

At least Little Me had enough sense to jump away with a scream, but he grabbed for my ankles and I screamed again, trying desperately to kick him away. My mother ran at him and pried him up off the floor, pushing him against the wall and holding him there with surprising strength.

"_Run!" _She screamed. Little Me didn't look back, and she didn't look forward. As I commonly do when really scared and running, she closed her eyes and powered forward through the snow with speed that would have put Olympic runners to shame. By the time I reached the front of the cabin Little Me was a small blot on the horizon, making her way back to her parent's- wait, no, that wasn't right anymore, it was her mother and step-father's- cabin.

To my horror, right behind her was the evil Daimon-demon-monster that had claimed to be her father, but who was apparently A-Okay with ripping her to shreds and taking her soul in a blind vendetta against her mother. My life, my lovely, lovely life.

He bellowed something that I couldn't comprehend over the wind, which was now screaming almost as loud as Little Me was. I bit down on my knuckles to keep from screaming, too.

My mother turned with wide, blank eyes, haunted by sadness, and I realized that she could see me. I didn't know what to say, so I remaned silent, my own eyes accusitory.

"I'm so sorry," She whispered, choking on a sob. "Oh, Gods, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean any harm in bringing you here. I promise."  
I felt nothing and still said nothing, but in my silent state I realized the truth. My mother, do-gooder-of-the-decade, always looking out for her family's interests, had fucked up. She had made a mistake and because of it, I might have died. It was not my fault, it was hers.  
She'd made a mistake in having me, too. She shouldn't have involved herself with an Appolite to begin with. She could have just held onto my soul and, y'know, not damned me to die at 27.

Oh, god... I was going to die in 5 years. Almost 4.

I shook my head at her, my lip curling in disgust, and then I willed myself away from her.

I found myself near Little Me again, and I was struck once more how different I'd looked as a child. My hair was long and almost as light as the snow, my cheeks thinner and my eyes paler than they were now. Honestly, before I dyed my hair, I really did have an Appolite's appearence. I had been dyeing it for so long, I didn't really consider blond to be its natural color. I looked more like my parents this way, too, so I would have never really suspected...

Anyways. Little Me had fallen to the ground and was struggling to get up again, her hands falling through the new snow as she continued to struggle. The Daimon was close now, reaching to grab her shoulder and lift her.

"NO!" I screamed, knowing no one could hear me. Damn being an invisible ghost-thing, an innocent bystander in my own memories. I knew I wasn't going to die or aything, since obviously I was alive almost sixteen years later, but it was still pretty scary watching myself get attacked by a Daimon.

The knife came out of nowhere. One minute, the Daimon was holding Little Me aloft by my throat, slowly choking the life out of me, and the next, he had dropped Little Me and was clutching his throat, shrieking like a banshee.

My mother strode over slowly and pulled the knife out of his deep wound, wiping his blood off the common kitchen knife's surface onto the front of her jeans. She raised the knife as if to kill him and his hand flew up to stop her. "Wait."  
"You tried to kill my daughter, you bastard," She sneered. "I'm not waiting for anything."  
"You can't kill me," He laughed. "You had my child. There's no way you'd ever have the strength to kill me. What will you tell the girl, when she grows up and realizes who her father really is? What you did to him?"  
"She won't find out," My mother promised severely. "She'll never know what a bastard weakling her father really is. Get out of here, you scum, before I come to my senses and kill you like I should."  
He scrambled to his feet and glanced back down at Little Me again. She'd given into the abbyss of unconsciousness and lay in a heap on the ground, her arms outstetched and her mouth ajar. Like this, she looked like she was just asleep in the snow, not knocked out and half-dead.

"I'm glad I won't know her," He kept his distance but motioned to Little Me absentmindedly. "Children just complicate things."  
Without looking back at his family, the Daimon walked into the woods and dissapeared. My mother collected me up into her arms and walked back in the direction of the cabin that we were sharing with my-well, at the time I didn't know it, but now I would have to refer to them as this- half-siblings and step-father.

Oh, Gods, my father was a Daimon. My mother had let him go instead of killing him like she was supposed to. Along witht that, I was a half Appolite. I was going to just wither away and die someday, maybe leaving behind a family and a life that I wouldn't actually want taken from me.

_Good gods, what was I going to tell Spawn?_

The next dream that followed after my mother's deception faded was not a memory of mine. As a matter of fact, it occoured some time before I was born. The day of Spawn's death, to be precise.

This wasn't a land I recognized, either. It was a hillside pocketed with caves, grazzy green holling hills punctured by deep black caverns under a flawless blue sky. The sun was hot and bright above, radiating upon the lush landscape.

Where was Spawn from, again? And what time? I couldn't remember now. Somewhere near the Greecian coast, maybe.  
I heard raised voices from within one of the caves, and a scream, bloodcurdling and shrill. I jumped and then remembered my own screams after being attacked, thinking that maybe I could interact with the characters in this dream and that perhaps I could help. I tried to find the person in need- and then I saw her.

But only for a second, before she was dragged fully out into the sunlight and burned to death in a matter of seconds.

My hands flew to my mouth to block a scream. Oh, god, this was what I'd read about on the web-site. _Died trying to save his wife and children from burning to death at the hands of humans. _

His wife...

His _kids..._

Dead. Little piles of ashes on the ground, just like that poor little Appolite who'd just been roasted. Oh, god. No way I could be jealous of that.

I heard another shriek, this one farther, and the two humans, bulky, blundering and stupid, also ran towards its source. There was another skirmish between an Appolite and two humans, but this was different than the poor girl who'd died alone. This young woman had another Appolite, a man, trying to defend her against the human's attack.

That young man was Spawn.

It was strange, he looked exactly as he did today, but his hair was longer and pulled back from his face in a ponytail, and his eyes were as deep and blue as the sea. He had a sword in one hand and another hand on the arm of the woman, who was being dragged towards the sunlight by the men.  
"You will not take her!" He snarled at one of the humans.

From the ground, another human screamed, "They are unnatural! Spawns of the devil! Destroy them all!"

The two humans abandoned Spawn and his wife, going deeper into the darkness, and he pulled her close to him, holding onto her. For a second, it looked okay.

Until one of the humans returned to the cave's enterance with a small boy held under his arm, a little boy who looked so much like his father. The boy was bleeding profusely from a head injury and lay limp in the large human's beefy arms as the blood spilled on his white blond hair.

"Iadis!" His mother screamed, tears spilling down her cheeks. She tried to run to her son, and one of the humans grabbed onto her arm.  
"Get the girl!" He barked. Spawn's wife looked horrified.  
"God, no, please- Spare my daughter... Lucien, please my darling, save Iadis and Leito, leave me but keep them safe-please, oh..." Her voice came in short gasps and tears continued to roll down her fair cheeks. Her hazel eyes were rimmed with red from her crying and her golden hair was mussed from being crushed against the large human's chest.

Spawn turned on the human holding his son and buried the sword deep in the man's chest. Choking, the human dropped the boy and Spawn caught him before he hit the rocky ground. The human convulsed and twitched as his friend released the woman. She turned, and tried to run, but hit the barrier of another human, this one larger than the others. There was a small blond child tucked under his arm, a girl of maybe six or seven, who was stirring feebly and also bleeding from her forehead.  
Spawn's wife cried out softly, and fell against the ground before him, begging on her knees for the life of her only daughter. I watched all of this and felt bile rise in my throat, and had to close my eyes when he released the child and dragged his mother out towards the sunlight. She screamed inhumanly and clawed at him to be set free, and Spawn shouted something. I opened my eyes to find him confronting the human man who was trying to kill his wife.

"Let her go. Take me in her place. Kill me, but leave my wife and children." It sickened me to see him having to beg for the lives of his family members, but I knew that he spoke from his heart. I had known it since this morning, when he'd talked about his wife and the happy life they'd led before the human interference.  
The human paused. "If we kill you, you want us to let them live?" He spoke in a questioning, almost confused tone. His accent was harsh and unfamiliar.  
"Yes. Please. They mean the world to me and they live without sin. We are but a simple, loving family, and I can't bear the thought of them harmed. I want your word as a gentleman that if I die willingly, you will leave my family in peace and leave this place." His voice was as though he was speaking through his grit teeth, and the human pursed his lips as though considering the Appolite's offer.

"You are going to die anyway," The man told him. "You are six and twenty, are you not?"  
"I had considered becoming what you should truly be hunting," Spawn admitted. "But without Penelope, even my afterlife would mean nothing."  
I froze at what he'd just admitted. Spawn had thought about becoming a Daimon- becoming a soulless, evil killed bent on destroying human life and souls. He was now damned to kill them for eternity. Talk about irony.

"If we kill you," The man promised, "We will let them go." There was murmur from the remaining men in the space, and the leader turned around to snap at them, "Bind his legs and arms so that he cannot escape."

"Lucien," Penelope begged. "Do not do this. There are better ways. You musn't die."  
"Penelope, please. Let me die knowing that I am doing the right thing in sacrificing myself for those I love. Be silent, my love."  
"I am with child," She said quietly, looking to the ground. "If it is a boy, I shall name him for his brave father. The one who left him an orphan to save him."

Spawn looked up with wide eyes to his wife. "Oh, Penelope..." Tears were flowing from his eyes now, smearing the blood that was drying on his cheeks.  
"Do not speak," She whispered. "We will find each other in _Katoteros_, my darling."  
He nodded, and as he did Penelope was pushed back so that the ropes could be tied to his hands and feet, and then he was laid upon his back facing the opening of the cave.  
"We will keep our promise," The man said, standing close to speak to Spawn. Then he looked to the other human men. "Let them go."

I had to look away when Penelope and her two almost-dead children were pushed out of the cave and into the blinding sunlight. I heard the screams of both her and her husband and watched as the sword was run through him. I closed my eyes when the blood splattered across the wall and the screaming stopped. I was sobbing now, sobbing like a child.

I cried for ten minutes, shaking my head and keeping my eyes sealed shut as the humans gathered their weapons and left.

When the last few humans had gone, laughing and talking amongst themselves like a victorious sports team, a beautiful woman in a shimmering light gown appeared before the Appolite's mangles body. Her hair was lush, wavy and red, and her eyes were large green orbs in a perfect face. This must have been Artemis, the gauridan and creator of the Hunters and sister of the god who'd created their enemies.  
She curled her lip. "Yuck. Blood." She sighed and leaned down to touch the hunter's right shoulder, leaving a burning hot brand upon it in the shape of a double bow and arrow.  
He awoke with a gasp and then an angered roar when he realized his betrayal. It sort of scared me, to tell the truth. "Penelope!" He snarled. "Where is she? Have you hurt her?"  
"No," Artemis said in a bored tone. "She's dead."  
"You have hurt her!" He struggled against the binding that the humans had left him in when they'd left his body here.  
"Uh, no," She said, putting her hands on her hips and snapping her fingers. The bloodied ropes fell away from his wrists and ankles, and the sword by his body dissapeared. "I didn't do anything to your Appolite. She was killed by the humans of a neighboring village."  
"Those bastards, I-" Spanw stood and then frowned. "Pardon me, my lady."  
She shrugged, looking very bored indeed. "I own you now," She said in a matter-of-fact voice. "Wait until sunlight fades, because it'll kill you, and then go out and get your vengence for whatever it was your silly humans did." She waved her hand like an irritated Miss America. "After that, Acheron will find you, give you the companion, and teach you whatever it is he teaches his Hunters."  
"Hunters?" Echoed Spawn, his eyes huge. "As in the Dark Hunters?"  
"That's what I said, isn't it, Lucien?" He growled low in his throat and narrowed his eyes.  
"I am not Lucien anymore. That part of me died with my Penelope. I am what those humans called me- the spawn of the devil."  
"So you're what, now, the devil? That name's taken."  
"I am not the devil," He said, his now black-eyes glowing with determination. "I am Spawn. And I will never be betrayed again."  
"That's nice," She said with another hand wave. "Wait until dark, get your vengence, find Acheron. That's all I care about."  
"Will I know this man, Acheron, when I see him?" He asked her. "I have not seen him before in my life- is there anything distinguishing about him, my lady?"

"You'll know him-" She turned to him with a mysterious smile and she batted her eyelashes. "He's what you've been running from your whole life..._Lucien."_  
And with that, the red-headed goddess dissapeared.

Spawn closed his eyes and I knew that he was thinking about his beautiful wife and their perfect children. She'd been pregnant again, and now she was dead. He was going to get revenge for what he'd lost. Who he'd lost.

_ And he was going to make those humans pay. One way or another. _

His thoughts came into my mind, unbidden and full of rage. They were ominous and I didn't like the sound of them, not one bit.

I awoke again with a gasp, sitting bolt upright in my bed. I searched in the darkness for Nikitas, and when I found him I held him close. If there was any truth in what I'd dreamed, and I had no reason to doubt my visions, he was not the Appolite in this picture-I was.

What was strange was that I could not cry on my own behalf now. Even though I had come to the realization that I was probably not going to live past my 27th birthday, I wasn't feeling too bad for myself. It was all making sense now.

No, who I felt terrible for was Spawn. Spawn, who had lost his life so early and lost everything that he had ever known or loved. His children and his wife had been wrongfully ripped away from him and killed, and there was nothing he could have done about it. And I was pretty sure he thought he'd done it to them by laying his life down and believing the humans would keep their promise.

I shivered as I remembered how his wife had been brutally slain by the humans, how they'd run the sword through him once his family had been killed. His horror at realizing what he'd become by selling his soul.

I curled up with one of the pillows, letting go of Nikitas and closing my eyes again. I needed to sleep; I had to. But-

The front door closed quietly, but with my new freakin' sweet hearing I heard it as though my bedroom door'd been shut. Sitting up slowly, I made sure not to disturb Nikitas as I slipped on my shoes and started for the door, shutting it even more quietly than the front door had been shut.

The house was silent, and I supposed it was close to dawn now. It was probably Spawn returning again- would I be able to face him now, knowing the pain he kept hidden?  
I would have to try.

"Ivory?" Yes, it was him, I knew now. I took a deep breath and called out quietly,

"Yeah, it's me."  
"Are you alright?"  
"Just woke up. I'll be okay once I have my coffee."  
He laughed quietly at this and I continued down the stairs. He was in the kitchen, and the pot of soup that Jen had made was still on the stove. I felt a little victorious in and of the fact that none of it was gone. Jen couldn't cook. _Muahaha. _

He turned around to smile at me, hands in his jeans pockets as he leaned against the counter. Dear gods, the man was gorgeous. "Pleasent dreams?"  
I froze and then watched him for a moment, before rushing forward into his arms, breaking down and needing to be close to him. He was startled for a second but pulled me close again after the initial confusion. My tears fell onto his black tee shirt and soon my cheek was damp.

"I take that as a 'no', then?" I was silent for a moment, resting my head against his chest, feeling his strong arms holding me close. He tried again, his voice soft and soothing, as though coaxing a child into talking about nightmares. "Ivy, can you talk to me about it?"

"I know what happened that day," I said finally, through a wall of tears. I couldn't bear to look him in the eye, but in his silence I heard confusion. "The day you died. I know about- about Iadis, and Lieto, and...and about Penelope..."  
"How?" His voice was cold and sharp now, and I flinched slightly.  
"I dreamt it," I admitted quietly.

"Could you have just been having a dream?"  
"You laid your life down for them," I told him quickly. "Offered your life in sacrifice for theirs. Your wife leaned close to you when you were tied down and said that she'd meet you in_ Katoteros_. She was going to have a baby, and if it was a boy she was going to name him after his brave father-you." It was his turn to fall silent. When he spoke agian, his voice was that of a parent chastising a child caught doing something bad.  
"Why were you delving in my subconscious, Ivy?"  
"I-it wasn't my fault!" I cried, pushing myself away from his embrace. "I don't control my dreams!"

"Uh huh," He said, sounding quite convinced indeed. I looked up at him through my tears. I couldn't tell him what else I'd seen, no; he'd never accept me after he knew about...

"About what?"  
I froze for a second, before stammering, "N-nothing,", raking my hands through my hair. I shuddered with disgusting, thinking about who'd given me this habit.

"You can tell me anything, Ivory. I won't judge you." His eyes were pleading and very serious. I sighed, shaking my head.  
"I don't want to say. You'll hate me."  
"Nothing you _ever _say could make me hate you," He told me seriously, and I looked away with a sigh.

"I'm an Appolite," I told him. There was a moment of deafening silence while he watched me with wide eyes, and then he laughed, shaking his head.  
"For a minute there," He said, still laughing, "You had me going."  
"But I am!"  
"Ivory," He said, looking a little bit miffed, "Cut it out. Seriously, that's not funny."  
"It's true!" I cried. "My father was an Appolite from Denver, and when I was born my mom dulled my fangs and took away my inability to be in the sun!" I pulled down my hair to show my roots. "Look! Blond!"  
He was silent for a moment and then he replied quietly, "I'm sorry."  
"I-"  
He captured my lips and for a brief moment, I could forget it all. I could forget what I saw and just live in this moment, here in his arms. I mean, I'd be okay with that. No problem, no complaints about the arrangment.  
But of course, a glass fell off the counter and shattered, and I heard a low curse. I opened my eyes and jumped back, thinking Jen and seeing Zarek. He looked away and sort of acted like he hadn't caught us making out. Again.  
I smiled to Spawn and then pulled his arms off of me, walking back in Zarek's direction. "How's your war wound?"  
"Fine," He grunted, looking away. I pointed to the stove.  
"There's food, if you want it. The other Squire made it. It's probably not poison." My humor was misplaced, though, because he looked at the meal as though it really were poisoned. I frowned. "Joking, Z. It was just a joke." He turned his murderous look to me before walking back into the living room, and I exhaled deeply, looking down and closing my eyes, deeply irritated. "Or, like, you could ignore me. That's cool, too."

I spied the broken glass and began to gather it, careful not to to cut my fingers on it. Spawn sat beside me with his hands on his drawn-up knees as he leaned agains the counter, watching me and appearing almost bored.

"Not bored," He countered. "Just confused."  
"About what?" I continued to find the little shards of glass.  
He motioned to me. "This. All of this."  
"Me?"  
"How can you be an Appolite?" He asked suddenly. "How do you know?"  
"I looked like my father," I admitted, shuddering, "But I look more like my mother now that my hair is dark."  
"And she took your fangs, the need for blood-everything?" I nodded. "Wasn't she human in this incarnation?"  
"Up until I was born, she was a goddess," I told him. "But I think her powers were passed onto me when I was born." I slit my finger on a piece of glass and cursed, shaking it and putting the shard of glass back into the remains of the cup.

He moved to stand, beginning, "Here, I'll get you a bandag-", but before he could finish his sentace the cut dried up and healed. I smirked and waved my hand around, giving him jazz hands.  
"Magical," I said with a mocking grin. He rolled his eyes and sat beside me.

"You," He said with a laugh, "Are a dork."  
"Mmhm," I said, grinning up to him and laying my head on his chest. He sighed deeply and laid his head down on the counter, and he leaned down to kiss me again, but before our lips could touch Zarek stuuck his head around the corner of the room, motioning for us to seperate. Spawn jumped to his feet immedeately, and offered me a hand to pull me up. He let go of my hand just as Jen strode into the room in her frog pajama bottoms and tank top, rubbing her eyes blearily.

"You," She said eventually, still yawning, "Should go upstairs. It's close to daylight."  
"Me?"  
"No," She snapped, leveling me with a glare, "Spawn. And Zarek, too."  
"You can't tell me what to do," Zarek called from the other room. I looked in the living room to find him smoking a cigarette on the couch, and I smirked at the look of irritation on Jen's fine features. She glared in at him.

"No, but it is the responsibility of the squire to look out for the well being of his or her allotted Dark-Hunter." She crossed her arms and glared at me. "As such, you should probably be looking for a place for you and Zarek."  
"And what about you?" I snapped back, putting my hands on my hips. "What are _you _going to be doing?"  
"I am staying here," She told me.  
I returned her glare. "_You _don't belong here."  
"Yes," She said, "I do. I've been re-assigned."  
"You're taking Zarek?" I inquired dreamily, looking starry eyed and smiling brightly. She glowered at me again, before turning around to Spawn and giving him a smile. It was too much like a smile I might have given him, if you know what I mean, and I continued to glare at her.

"No," She said, almost to him. "I'm Spawn's Squire now."


	16. Things Don't Go According To Plan, Again

I stared at my former best friend for about a second and a half before I lunged for her. It took Spawn a lot to hold me back, and the whole time he tried I was spitting curses and snarling at Jen. She seemed unscathed and spoke on while I tried to beat her stupid smug face in.

"I think it would be best for that boy-what's his name? Alexander?" She shrugged. "No matter. I think that he should stay here, too."  
"Why?" I snapped.

"Because," She said cooly. "I don't think that he should spend any time with you. You're a terrible influence and you're honestly lucky that you haven't lost your job yet, or gotten every Hunter here killed."  
"Screw you, you bitch!" I shouted.

"I think that if you decided to take me to the council about this, I'm sure that they would side with me and that you would probably lose your job. You should leave before _I _decide to call them." She crossed her arms and stood there. The matter was dealt with. She waited for my reaction. I grit my teeth and walked forward to look her in the eye. I smiled at acted as though I were walking to the door, and then I turned back to see her watching me.

She looked so smug and self-assured, and Spawn looked so broken. I clenched both my fists and then decided that I wasn't going to be accountable for my next actions.

"You are _so _accountable for what just happened."

I turned back to see Spawn in the doorway. I adjusted my jacket and leaned my crossed arms against the snowy banister, looking to the horizon before me without responding. I felt one of his arms around my shoulder and looked over to see him on my other side.

"I don't care," I sniffed, half from crying and half from the cold I was developing staying here. "She deserved it."  
"Ivory," He laughed deeply, "You punched her in the face."  
"So?" I pouted. "Where is she?"  
"Are you going to apologize," He inquired, "Or extract the rest of your revenge?"

"What do you think?"

"I'm thinking revenge," He said, studying my face, "But I'm new to reading your moods, so you might be thinking of apologizing."  
"You were right the first time," I told him miserably, laying my head down on his shoulder.

"She's upstairs, applying ice to a bruised and perhaps broken nose," Spawn finally told me. I turned and looked at the stairs, visible through the foyer windows.

"In my room?"  
"No. In another guest room."  
"How many do you have?" I inquired.

"Four, I think. Maybe five." He shrugged and I winced as pain split my head. "Sorry."  
"S'Okay." I sighed deeply. "I'm going to miss you."  
"And I'll miss you," He told me. I sighed again.

"Why does she have to be such a bitch?"  
"It's not just her," He told me wearily. "I think we were damned to being with. Hunters and Squires aren't supposed to mix."

"So?" I demanded. "It's not like that matters. We're not just 'Hunter' and 'Squire'. We're people, you know. We're just two people who..."  
"No," He said solemnly, stopping me. "You're a person. I'm just a Hunter."  
"You matter. Don't act like you don't. And if you ever begin to think you don'tmatter, just look at the broken nose I gave Jen on your behalf." He laughed and I wrapped my arms around him.

"Oh, Ivory," He sighed, shaking his head.

"I should probably go," I said quietly. "I'll come by and visit some time, if your warden will allow it."  
"I doubt that she will," He told me. I shrugged.  
"I'll break in through a window or something, then." He smiled.  
"Here's looking forward to your next break in," He replied, leaning against the banister. I gave him a salute and started to walk towards one of the SUVs.  
The one I'd used last still had the keys on the seat, so I took them. I waved to Spawn again and then drove off into the direction of the early dawn, back towards town.

Time has this funny way of going on, even when we don't want it to.

I was miserable for the next five months, as winter rolled by and Zarek's cabin was rebuilt; he offered to let me stay with him, but I honestly needed to be on my own. He understood. He'd known how things had been with Spawn and I- and how deeply Jen's betrayal cut me.

I became a shell of myself. I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, and could not focus on anything but fighting. I couldn't keep going on acting like things were fine, living among humans, so I took up residence with the Daimons. Stryker pretty much ignored me, and Urian was an upitty bitch, but most of the others were cool. They didn't, like, try to kill me or anything, I mean. To the furthest extent of my knowledge.

I had a small house, actually, built on the hill by the camp. After a few weeks, I'd decided that living in a tent sucked, and that I needed my own place. Being a loaded Squire has its benefits. It was a small, simple house- two bedrooms, 1/2 bath, a kitchen and a living room, dining room and den. Nothing too special. But hey, it was better than living in Z's cabin.

Stryker's prediction that my sister would strike before the end of the two weeks that Ash was MIA was wrong, but I couldn't say that to his face. I could just wait. And train.

I was getting better with bow and arrow combat, but I had to say that guns were still my favorite. I kept thinking back to the special amunition that Spawn had used against Iccarius, and why it hadn't killed him-but would it kill a zombie? Maybe I could stop by and ask...

_No. _That annoying, reasonable part of me kept shouting. _Don't put yourself through such pain for something that can never be yours. _

_Shut up, reason, _I snapped, glaring at the snowy ground outside my window. There was no reason that I couldn't just call and ask about-

Oh, yeah, I could see that conversation right now. "_Hey, Spawn, I- Oh, hi, Jen. How's your nose doing? Yeah, I know you hate me now, but can I speak to the Dark-Hunter who I shouldn't be cavorting with in the first place but who I couldn't resist with all the power in the world? Yeah, I'll hold."  
_I snorted and leaned against the window frame. She'd probably call the Squire Council as soon as she heard my voice. I'd fallen off the radar, but that was probably just because no one ever really checked on the Hunters or their Squires here in Alaska. I mean, I could probably be dead, and the Council would be none the wiser.

I wasn't dead, but I was alone. I didn't really know which was worse.

Night fell, and I awoke again. I pulled on my black leather jacket, a pair of black boots, and blue jeans and a white tee and headed out, slipping a handgun into my back pocket and a pair of throwing knives under the fabric of my jacket's inner pocket. I slipped out the door like a ghost, falling into the knee deep snow. I kicked at it and then cut a path to the tent where I knew Stryker would be awakening.

I pulled the curtain back to reveal the Daimon king reclining on the bed, his swirling silver eyes staring me down. "I did not order an alarm."  
"I'm not giving you one," I snapped. "I"m going hunting. I wanted to know if I'd have anyone joining me tonight." Sometimes the Daimons joined me on patrol, and sometimes they came back wiser; other times they came back as dust. In an army such as ours, life was never truly a certain thing.

He made a _tsk_ sound at me. "So early?"

"It's not that early," I pulled back the tent's opening to reveal the black night. "It's dark. The zombies stir. I feel it."  
"Those powers of yours get more frightening with every passing day," He remarked, "And careful for any humans you see. Your eyes are the queerest mixture of ruby and amythest tonight."  
I blinked and glanced down to the floor. The Daimons talked about my eyes a lot now- they tended to change on a daily basis. They didn't know me as Rainbow Girl- to them, I was Rainbow Eyes. I missed the blue that Spawn had known; but at the same time, it was better this way.

"I'll wear contacts," I snapped bitterly. "Go rip someone's throat out."  
And with that said, I stormed out of the Daimon leader's tent. It's not at if I feared his wrath anymore- my powers rivaled his now.

I'l admit it, over the last few months, I'd become a cocky bitch. But as my powers grew, I realized there was nothing I couldn't do. My power knew no boundries; I could become the next Daimon leader if I wanted... But I couldn't take that from Stryker. The bastard had grown on me.

Besides, to be strong was to be overconfident, sometimes; and to be strong here was to stay alive. Weakness of any kind was not tollerated, as I learned quickly. Stryker knew no mercy, and I wasn't about to become a snack for a Daimon because of a few tears. If I acted as though I were the best and had the strength to prove I was, I would be left alone. Simple.

I wasn't so strong, though. I still missed my human family, even if they weren't related to me. I missed Spawn. I missed Nikitas- they were more of a family to me, now. I mourned for the loss of them, for what had been taken from me.

I still loved, I still feared, and I still could be hurt. I wasn't going to become some ruthless ruler, just because I'd had goddess powers restored to me. I was more human that Appolite, I was sure of this.

If only that were enough to save me.

I teleported to where I felt the strongest zombie signal. I sort of had a built-in sensor about the zombies now, kind of like the kind that the Dark-Hunters had.

The tingling on the base of my spine grew as I approached the small, abandoned streetcorner on the very edge of Fairbanks, half-buried in the snow and black without aid of streetlights or car's light. I could hear hushed voices with my new, freakin' sweet hearing, and I could almost smell the fear and uncertainty radiating off the humans.

"Dude, this blows. Let's leave."  
"Just stay, for five more minutes. She said she'd meet us here, with two or three friends. C'mon, man, it'll be worth it." The voices were adolescent, maybe sixteen or seventeen year old boys. At least two of them.  
"No- it's freezing as fuck out here. Damn, man, no bitch's worth this."  
"She is. Promise."  
I sighed and stepped out from behind the building I'd been leaned against. "Boys, you'd best get out of here."  
They jumped, and I noticed I was right- a skinhead and a junkie, both about fifteen or sixteen, youthful faces covered with peach fuzz beards and zits abound. I scared one so badly, he dropped the cigarette he had clamped in his mouth into the snow, where it burned a deep hole.

"This her?" One of the boys surveyed me with leering eyes. "Day-um."  
"I'm not your zombie," I snapped. "She's not here."  
The skinhead looked up at me with huge eyes. "What?"  
"Get out of here," I snarled again, losing my patience as I brandished my weapon of choice- a double sided long handled ax. Its silver blades gleamed wickedly against the snowy moonlight. One of the boys looked ready to pass out, and they both took a few steps back. "Go back home, and lock your doors. Don't leave again."  
"Screw you, bitch, you don't tell us what to do." The skinhead puffed up his chest and turned back to grin at his friend. His friend wasn't watching, though, and the tingling in my spine returned as I spied the look of horror and shock on his face.

I spun around, ducked to avoid the zombie's blade, and then swung the ax. It came in contact with the zombie's throat, and she fell, disolving to gold powder instantly. The boys screamed and one fell into the snow, crawling away from the powder.  
"GET OUT OF HERE!" I shrieked, and the boys turned tail and ran as though the devil was on their heels. I watched for a moment before I stalked back into the darkness, following the trail of the other zombies.

I trudged through the snow and pulled my ax back over my shoulder, buckling a bit under its weight. The street was silent spare the wind's shrill shriek, and I was entirely focused on the sensation that the zombie's presence was sending through my bones.

I did not find another group of them for quite some time, and even then there were only two or three. On average, I found seventeen zombies or more roaming the city- it was hard to tell them from the drunk kids, some times. I've yet to kill a college kid, though.

After the latest group of zombie invaders had been disposed of, their remains falling softly to the ground like golden snow, I closed my eyes and tried to get the wherabouts of any more. I was dissapointed when I came to the conclusion that tonight was going to be very boring, with a lack of zombies running about town.

I teleported the ax back to my house and then set out in the frigid winter night, searching for anything to keep me occupied. As I neared town, I could hear laughter and love echoing from the houses and the stores. I closed my eyes and blinked back tears. I would never be a part of these circles again, never truly walk among the humans as one of them. I was a goddess now. I was alone. I was the one thing keeping the humans safe from a scurge that would overtake them and destroy them, overtake and destroy the entire cosmos.

And I didn't even get paid for it. Damn, I hated my job sometimes.

I found an open coffee house, one of the few Starbucks establishments in town. I opened the door and slipped inside, feeling the heat rush into my frozen bones and the color return to my cheeks. My eyes were now a rich, dark brown, vibrant and energizing as the coffee beans in the drinks here.

I pulled off my gloves and retrieved my cell phone from my pocket. I dialed a number and waited, then heared a gruff, irritated "What?" in a thick Greek accent from the other line after it connected. I tried to smile.

"Hey, Z, it's Ivory." I tried to sound bright and happy. I failed.  
"Hey." His voice changed a little bit, became friendly in the littlest way. But that might have just been my imagination. "What do you want?" Nope, not friendly.

"I'm at the Starbucks at 5th and Lurleine- do you want to meet me? If you're not too busy." I tried to smile again. "I'm buying."  
"I don't drink coffee."  
"Yes, you do." I'd _seen _him drink coffee. He drank all of the coffee at Spawn's house, before I'd even had one cup.  
"I quit."  
"Z, c'mon, I'm gonna go crazy if I don't talk to someone from my old life. _Please. _It's either you or Spawn, and you know I can't do that." My voice was pleading now, and I was trying to keep my voice down, even though no one here was listening to me.

He paused for a moment and then when he spoke again, his voice was cold and irritated again. "Give me ten minutes. I'll be there. You said 5th and Lurlaine?"  
"Yes."  
He hung up and I sighed, shaking my head. That man was as moody as any teenaged girl I'd ever met, myself included.

I ordered my drink and then sat down to wait for it, pulling my coat of and draping it over the edge of my chair. I rested my elbows on the table as I scrolled through the phone, passing the time until Zarek arrived. I tried to ignore the stares I was getting from the other patrons as I retrieved my coffee and returned to my seat. I had just sat down again when the door opened and in walked Zarek.

'Walked' isn't really the proper word; I would have called it more of 'storming in' or 'striding in with such rage and malice radiating off of his being that half of the patrons fell silent and most looked very, very scared'. I laughed because, well, it was Zarek.

I waved him over and he cut through the crowd to reach me. I stood and shook his hand politely, and he nodded, taking a seat.

"How're you?" I asked warmly.

"Fine," He said, looking around at the crowded coffee shop. "Aren't you supposed to be, like, killing zombies or something right now?"  
I shrugged. "I have the night off."  
"Oh, those Daimons who own you now are liberal with their vacations, huh?"  
"Shut up, Z. No one owns me."

"Riiight." He looked up. "I'm going to go get coffee."  
"I thought you quit."  
"I did, too." He stood, head and shoulders over the rest of the customers, and went to stand in the line. I heard his order.

"Hello, sir, may I-"

"Coffee. Black."  
"Do you want anything in that, sir? Whipped cream, or-"  
"You heard me." His voice was little more than a growl. "Black. Black coffee in a cup. Is that so hard to make?"  
The poor barista looked as though she was close to tears, and he hands were shaking as she wrote the order on the side of the paper cup. I sighed and put my head on the table, shaking my head. He came back to the table, and by then I was laughing silently. He glared at me. "What're you laughing at?"  
"You know, kindness never killed anyone."  
"In my experience, it does exactly that." He leaned back against the wall and propped his feet up on the spare chair at our table.  
I shrugged. "So, any news about-"  
"No. I haven't seen any of them. We don't patrol the same areas, and I have no desire to go visit that lovely squire of his." He stopped for a minute. "and as for Nikitas, well... I don't know what he's up to. Don't care, to be honest."

I tried to hide my dissapointment by looking down to my drink and stirring it, but it was obvious I was upset. When I looked up again, it was because he had glanced over to the window and was saying in a monotone voice, "Oh. Look over there. How convenient."

I looked up, too, frowning, and saw a man outside of the coffee house window I thought I might never see again. His white-blond hair shone in the moonlight, a sharp contrast to his black-on-black wardrobe, and he was tall, so very tall. He watched us as though he could hear us-or hear our thoughts. My jaw fell.

"Spawn!" I gasped, barely missing a young couple coming into the store as I barreled out into the street. He caught me in his arms and I held him tightly, not wanting to let go in case this was just some whacked-out, sick dream I was having. "What are you doing here?"  
"I couldn't have planned anything like this," Zarek was saying as he, too, exited the establishment, holding both of our drinks and my phone. "It's not as if I contacted him after hearing from you for the first time in five fucking months. It's not as if I told him the address and when to meet us. It's not like I'd _ever _do anything like that. It's not my style."  
He was taken off gaurd when I ran at him and pulled him into a hug. He almost dropped our coffee.

I whispered, "Thank you."

He had nothing to say, except, "My powers are draining. I'm gone," as he extracted himself from my vice-like grip and nodded to Spawn.

"Once again, Zarek, I owe you." The ex-Roman slave shrugged and started down the street, away from us. When he was out of sight, I pulled Spawn down to my level and kissed him passionately. I didn't care that some of the people in Starbucks were staing. Zeus himself could have been watching, for all I cared. I hadn't seen the man in almost half a year.

"I thought you promised me you were going to break into my prison and visit me some time," He said, his voice lightly accusitory against my lips. I shrugged and he pulled away.  
"I had a lot on my plate," I told him breathlessly, pulling him down to me again. "I've been learning how to fight."  
"With who?"  
"The Daimons," I said, eyeing his lips and then looking up into his eyes. Suddenly, he didn't look too happy.  
"Wait- You're still training with the Daimons?" I nodded, and his mouth became a fine set line. "Ivory, that's so dangerous! You're a human, and I couldn't stand it if something-"  
"No I'm not," I countered, crossing my arms, my tone borderline irritated. "I am an Appolite and a goddess."  
He fell silent. "Oh."  
I nodded again and then my irritation faded. "I keep forgetting about how you used to worry about me. You thought I was so delicate, even though I wasn't. I'm still just as tough, but now I have the powers of a goddess in my possession."  
He frowned. "You don't sound the same."  
I cocked my head to the side. "What?"  
"You didn't used to sound so sure of yourself. And there's something different about you... I can't quite tell what it is, but you seem more adult now."  
"Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?" I asked bitterly, closing my eyes and hoping they were still a nice, normal dark brown. They were probably like red with black with purple with orange with green or something, with my luck.

"They're not," He told me. "They're blue. Just like I remembered them. Have they been changing often?"  
"A few times a day," I admitted, noting that he'd changed the subject.

"I'll bet Stryker gets a kick out of that," He muttered, kicking at the snow at his feet. I laughed.  
"Don't sound so jealous," I told him jokingly. He looked up, and I saw that he actually wasn't joking. I reached up and brushed the hair from his forehead. "Don't worry. Dude's a man whore. I wouldn't go for him."  
His face lightened a bit and I kissed him again. He pulled back with a sigh. "I have to talk to you about something."  
"Want to go somewhere more private?" I asked, glancing back at the coffee shop. Most of the patrons had returned to their drinks, but a few watched out of the corners of their eyes. He nodded and I took his hand, hoping that I wouldn't accidentally let go as I teleported us back to my little house on the hill above the Daimon's camp.

Luckily, we both got inside safely, without losing any essential parts in the teleportation process, like heads or fingers. I know from experience how bad it could've been-let's just say teleportation worked better with Hunters than it did with Daimons.

He sat in the living room while I heated my coffee up again, which had frozen sitting out in the snow. I leaned against the counter facing into the living room, and he was doing a very good job at avoiding my eye.

"What did you have to talk about?" I finally asked in exasperation after a few minutes had passed. He looked up at me, his eyes uncharacteristicly blank as he surveyed my irate expression.

Spawn appeared to be trying to choose his words, which also was not like him. It was a few more moments before he spoke again. "You should probably sit down."  
One eyebrow flew up and I frowned. That did _not _sound good; but I took his advice and sat down on the couch in the living room, taking his hand and trying to get him to sit as well. Instead, he remained standing, his expression still grave.

"Spawn?" I said quietly, hessitantly. "You're starting to scare me. Is something wrong? Is Nikitas okay?"  
"He's fine," He said, running his hand along his jaw. I'd noticed he tended to do that only during times of stress-it was his nervous tick, just like me messing with my scalp, which is actually more normal than how I've phrased it. He continued to speak, and I tuned back in. "He's started going to school again- he doesn't like his teacher, though, because she refuses to call him Nikitas. He put glue on her chair the other day. Super glue." He smiled slightly. "Jen had to go pick him up in the middle of the day."  
I laughed and shook my head. "Jen must have been mortified," I chuckled. His smile faded and his eyes became blank again. I stood finally and crossed the room to him, raking my hand though his hair and looking up at him. "Please tell me what's wrong. I'm having a hard time figuring out if it's something I did or not."

"Gods, no," He shook his head. "It's wasn't you. It's... it's Jen."  
"Is she dead?" He looked uncertain.

"No."  
"Was she hit by a truck?"  
"No..."  
"Maimed by bears?"  
"No."  
"Roped in by a circus troupe?"  
He broke a smile again and ran a hand down my cheek. "Nothing happened to her."  
"Then what is it? Is she in some dire, mortal danger? Is her soul at stake? Or the fate of the free world?"  
"No," He said, and there was heavy pain in his voice, "Ivory; Jen is Penelope. Reincarnated."  
I couldn't hear him anymore. All I could hear was Jen's voice, the way she'd smiled to him when she mentioned being his new Squire. The affection I saw. What I'd overlooked as her just being an eager freakin' beaver.  
I clenched my fists and glared into the distance, blocking him out. "How'd you find that out?"  
"She told me," He said, tugging on my sleeve and trying to move my eyes from the window, trying to make me look to him. "Ivory, please. Look at me."  
"I can't," I whispered miserably.  
I clenched my fists and continued to look away. "Ivory; please-"  
"Why should I?" I demanded. "Go play happy fucking family with your wife."  
"I told her I couldn't be involved with her." Frowning, I looked up at him. His features were honest and pleading, and he nodded as if to verify his words.

"Why would you do something like that?"  
"Because I-" He closed his eyes and sighed. "Because I can't. I just can't. I loved her once, but seeing her like this... no." He shook his head. _I belong-_

"What?" I frowned, and then he opened his eyes, looking surprised.  
"What?"  
"You- nothing; nevermind."  
"Ivory," He said, his voice low and quiet, "You know what I was going to say."  
I nodded silently, and then closed my eyes. "You should probably go," I said, "Before we both do something we'll regret..."  
~*~

I was half-asleep in my bed when Spawn walked back into my bedroom, pulling his jacket on and adjusting the collar of his shirt. I looked up drowsily as he glanced at me in the mirror, and I offered him an embarrassed half-smile, raking my hands through my hair. Memories of the day came rushing back to me and my cheeks warmed with embarassed color.

"Hi," I said meekly, covering myself back up with the blanket. He smiled back, approaching the bed.

"Hi," He replied quietly. I offered him a place to sit and he laid down beside me in the bed, wrapping his arms around me. We were both quiet for a minute, and the only sound in the near-darkness was our breathing.  
"I regret nothing," Spawn told me. "Do you?"  
I shook my head quickly. "Of course not!" I assured him. He raised an eyebrow and watched me for a long, awkward minute. "Okay, just a little..." I faltered and looked away.  
"A little?"  
"God, I'm so sorry," I groaned. "This probably ruins it, doesn't it? Damnit." I sat up and covered my face with my hands, drawing my knees up to my chest.  
"No," He said quietly, but when I looked up I saw his face had fallen a bit, and he had averted his gaze to the floor. I leaned over and laid my head on his chest, feeling his heart beat under me as I closed my eyes again.  
"I'm sorry," I told him, and I meant it sincerely.  
"There's food in the kitchen, and coffee," He said, changing the subject abruptly. "Are you hungry?"  
"A little bit," I admitted, and he nodded, standing and then looking back down at me. I watched as he smiled slightly and then turned away, walking down the hallway towards the kitchen. Eventually I stood and pulled on an old grey sweatshirt, brushing my hair back and examining my face in the mirror.

Jeez, I don't think I could have looked any worse. My hair was standing out at a weird angle and had gone from sort-of-wavy-sort-of-curly normal to a frizzy mess. My face looked paler than normal and I had deep purple pockets under eyes that were the rich pinkish-red color of pomegranate seeds. My old sweatshirt had a stain on it, too; awesome. I groaned and searched in vain for anything that might make me look semi-presentable, finding only a hair scrunchy and some old foundation, which I smeared under my tired eyes.

I pulled my hair back violently and fixed it before I walked into the kitchen with a smile that I hoped looked sort of happy. I mean, tonight hadn't been terrible, after all, and god forbid I send _that _message. I'd just gotten him back, for chris'sake.

There was already a cup of coffee waiting for me at the counter, and I smiled to Spawn gratefully as I took it, sitting at one of the bar stools. I yawned again and rested my elbows on the counter as I watched him.

"I didn't mean to like, offend you or anything by saying that. Sorry if I did." I looked back down to my drink as I spoke, hoping that he wasn't insulted by my regret, which had nothing to do with him an everything to do with my own weakness.

"What do you mean, your weakness?" He inquired, ignoring my apology as he leaned against the counter towards me, watching me intently. I looked down again.

"I-I shouldn't have done that... I mean, I'm a Squire and you're..." I looked to him hopelessly. "You know what I mean."  
"No, I don't," He told me seriously, watching me unblinkingly. "I have no regrets, and we didn't do anything wrong. You're hardly a Squire anymore, and no one considers me a Dark-Hunter."  
"But you are, and I still am," I whispered, looking to my coffee again. "It can't happen again, Spawn, no matter how much we want it to. It just can't."  
"Why not?" He demanded, looking a little miffed. "What's stopping us, Ivory?"  
"Are you not _listening _to this conversation?" I asked him, throwing my hands in the air and glaring at him. "_You are a Dark-Hunter and I am a Squire!"_

"And I am in love with you!" He shouted back. "Who cares about what we are? Acheron doesn't even _notice _any of us anymore! _He'd never know!_"  
I stopped for a second and then shook my head. "No, no no. We are _not _doing this."  
"Doing what?" He demanded sullenly, looking like he might pout or something. I sighed and held my head in my hands.

"I need you to leave."

He froze and watched me for a second. "What?" He said quietly. I looked up, and pointed with a shaking finger to the door.  
"You heard me. Leave."  
"You- we-" He looked scared and lost.  
"Spawn," I whispered softly, shaking my head. "We can't do this. You know as well as I do that we can't."

"Ivory," He said quietly, looking to me pleadingly. "Don't do this to me. I've given what remains of my soul to you. Don't do this-please."  
"Leave." I whispered it.  
And then he did.  
It took me a few moments to come to terms with what I had just done. I rested my head on the counter, tears working easy tracks down my cheeks, sobs assaulting my body; but I'd had to do what I'd done.

He couldn't love me. We weren't supposed to be with one another. He was a Hunter and I was a squire- another Dark Hunter's Squire, but a Squire nonetheless. Off limits. No exceptions. Not even for an Appolite and a goddess.

Damn, life sucked right now. I sort of wanted to kill something. Just a little bit. I glanced over at the clock over my stove. It was almost five; darkness had fallen close to an hour ago. . .

It was then that I made up my mind on what I was going to do tonight.

I was ready in another ten minutes; I slipped out of my house and out of Daimon territory without speaking to any of them. Ignoring my regular routine of taking a group of Daimons with me, I struck out on my own to accomplish my deed, my desire for revenge.

The SUV did not drive fast enough for me. I sped down the back roads, down the road I knew well.

_Ivory, where are you going? _  
A blast from the past- Georgia's sweet voice echoed in my ears, and I laughed bitterly.  
"Where have you been for the last five months?"  
_Something was blocking my transmission. I've been screaming for you for months. I thought I'd gone crazy. I was stuck in limbo. What happened to you? Where's Spawn?  
_Speaking quickly, I filled her in on the events of the last five months or so; my residence in the Daimon camp, getting kicked out of Spawn's house, our day together today (in vague detail). Finishing with my plan for tonight, she finally spoke up.

_That's totally insane- Ivory, you're going to get yourself killed!  
_"I don't _care _anymore, Georgia! I just want it all to stop! I want life to be normal again!" I was on the verge of tears- the road was becoming blurry. I blinked and it cleared, and I realized how quickly I was flying down the road towards my destination.

_Can I stop you from doing this? _Her voice was hessitant in my mind, and I snapped back angrily,

"No."  
_Well, then, I suppose the only thing I can say is good luck, and don't get killed or caught._

I ignored her as the SUV carrened over the side of the hill towards the enterance to La Vie Nocturne. Taking my gas can and a tiny box of matches, I left the keys in the ignition as I parked in the back lot.

I watched the building as it began to burn with only a half-interest. The destruction of this club would not appease my bloodthirsty appetite. I had to take life with my own hands. To know that my hands would and could kill, that I was strong and was truly of deadly stock. I would kill until I could kill no longer.

I had to find a zombie. Or, better yet, my sister- mommy dearest wasn't avaliable quite yet. But some day- oh, some sweet day, hopefully soon- it would be possible. The sweetest, most beautiful revenge would be taken. And all of my enemies would perish.  
_Ivory, you have to calm down. _Georgia sounded scared. _Go make up with Spawn and then ignore the rest of this stupid quest. The club is burning down, this has to be enough. _

"It isn't," I whispered into the wind, knowing she could hear me. "It will never be enough. Not until they are all dead."  
_Ivory, please! Think of my son, and of Spawn. What use are you dead?_

"I have to do this." And then, using my powers, I shut off the connection between the two of us. With nothing more to block my brain, I thought clearly, sitting back in the snow and listening to the club burn. They wouldn't know it for a few more moments, the poor bastards. And when they finally realized it- well, it would be too late by then.

The flames lapped at the building, eating away at it. I stood up, picked up my gas can, and walked calmly towards my car.

"There's a fire at La Vie."  
Spawn frowned as he answered his phone to Zarek's strange greeting. "Nice to hear from you, too, Zarek. How's the family? That's great. Good to hear."

There was silence from the other end. "You're one strange guy, did you know that?"  
The Appolite-Hunter laughed bitterly. "I know. And what relivence does the fire hold?"  
"I don't know- those are your people, though. Shouldn't you help them, or like, something?"  
"I don't have any _people. _I have me. And Nikitas."  
Zarek coughed. "And Ivory."

"Let's not talk about her."  
"Trouble in paradise?"  
"Drop it." Spawn's voice was forceful and sincerely irate.  
"Whatever. But I thought you should know."  
"Good to know. Later." Spawn put his phone down and decided that he was going to take the night off. He deserved it, after what had happened today.

He'd told Ivory the truth. Spawn was sure she knew it- he'd been rather blunt, hadn't he? Nevertheless, he'd felt her panic after he spoke. Had experienced first hand the pain of her kicking him out.

Shaking his head, he rolled over in his bed and picked up his phone, tossing it accross the room. He heard it hit the wall with a sharp _crack. _If she wanted to talk to him, she could come here herself and talk to him.

Gods, he hadn't felt pain like this in a long time. All because of some stupid little Squire, too. How embarassing; to be so hung up on some _human. _

No, not a human- a goddess.

A hunter and a goddess. Scratch that; an Appolite-Hunter and a half-Appolite goddess. The idea of it was laughable.

So how come he couldn't laugh about it?

He sighed and sat up, resting his elbows on his legs and his head in his hands. What was he going to do about Ivory? He couldn't have a respectable relationship with a squire, as he knew, and seeing her on the side was not an option. His boss was omniscent and not down with squire-Dark-Hunter relationships.

Spawn didn't see this as being very fair. Acheron himself had said that his hunters were to do the right thing. But the right thing was so damn _painful_.

Speaking of the right thing. . .

He stood with a heavy sigh, slipped his feet into his boots, and slammed the door to his bedroom shut behind him.

I left La Vie in search of blood- not the blood of innocents, taken senselessly from the unwilling, the victims of my people's hunt for survival. I had a craving for the blood of the damned. One in particular.

I stalked through the forest like a cat, slinking behind trees and searching the perimeter of open fields. Suprise was my advantage- if he saw me, I would be dead. The falling snow whispered like tiny white ghosts around me; I tried my best to stay silent wading through knee-high flakes. What would have appeared to a human as a confusing, pitch-black nightmare was a clear and bright wintery wonderland to me.

All the while, I thought of what I was about to do. I had supposedly once loved this man. In a past life, I had given him my soul, my love, and borne him children. We had been as one, a ruling force to be reconed with.  
At least, we were until he threw me out a window.

That was once of the forces motivating me to act tonight. I'd been wronged; I'd been mistreated, abused. He'd tried to kill me more than once. He'd actually succeeded once.

Yeah, it was about time Iccarius died.

I knew that he would be staking out his usual hunting grounds by now; he would be searching for both recruits and fast food for himself and his merry band of soldiers. I cursed under my breath, realizing I'd forgotten the backup that he seemed to carry with him- like most leaders, he held control over a group of eliete soldiers- his bodygaurds. Ah, well; I could take care of them before he was to meet his fate- the bastard would die alone,if I had to take out every single one of them first. No help for him. No soothing voice, leading him softly into the unknown. Pain was all he would know before the reaper overtook him. Or until whatever it was Appolites believed happened to them after they died happened.

Blindly searching for a camp full of bloodthirsty zombies is something that I do not reccomend doing. Especially when you are me, the Appolite goddess who fears nothing but still jumps a foot in the air and smothers a scream when a pile of snow drops from a branch about three feet off the ground.

I was about to give up on the entire damned search when I caught the smell of something that had been burned into my nostrils long before my powers had been awakened- the powers made the smell worse. The smell of sterile hospitals, burning hair, and rotting human flesh is one that many do not forget once it is smelled. And when you are me, who spent the majority of the last few years in hospitals, watching my parents wither before my eyes, the smell just remains all the more easily.

I lifted my nose to the wind and nearly puked from the scent. Yes, it was close; coming closer. Summoning a shadow around myself- yeah, ain't it cool?- I slunk behind a tree and waited until the zombies passed, wanting to save my energy to kill the man who had haunted my nightmares and teamed up with my sister to murder me.

At least; I was going to, until I saw him in freaking person, less than two feet from me. And he had no clue I was there.  
Reader; there are beautiful, glorious moments in life that make you very, very happy- happy to be breathing the air around you, happy to live. They make you stop and thank whatever may be out there that you have a beating heart and a brain.

This was one of those moments.

There was a silencer on my gun and a shadow surrounding my body, making me a cloud of black that would never be recognized by the brainless worker drones. If I had not been a vindictive, cruel woman, I would have just taken him out now and ended it. However, I rationalized, the gun wouldn't kill him; the only thing that would do that was my ax- that was a little messy but would have to do- and didn't I want to send a message to his people? Yeah.

I hid deeper in the natural shadow of the trees and relenquished my hold over my artificial shadow, which was using up quite a lot of my energy. I attempted to focus in a futile effort to gain it back- no dice. Well, I would just have to kill him without some juice; it made no difference to me.

I formed my ax from nothing, and glanced around the large trunk of the ancient fir to check in on my visitors.

They were gone.

Panicing for a brief moment, I looked around for the men frantically. There was no way that I could give them the upper hand; if I were to let Iccarius know I was still alive, there was no doubt about the fact that I wouldn't stay that way for long.  
Setting my ax against the trunk of the tree, I walked around, peering into the darkness and resisting the urge to scream out and give up. The smell of flesh and cleaning products had dissapeared, to be replaced by something that smelled of false, artificial flowers. Almost like-

"Covering it up," I whispered, a second before Iccarius lept out of the tree and onto my back, forcing me down into the snow.

I came to- I'm not sure how long it had been since I had been jumped. I didn't register what had happened until I saw that I had bee tied up and set upright in the snow, and saw the smug look upon Icccarius' handsome face.

He picked up my ax and swung it around his shoulders, laughing and tossing it in the air like a children's toy.

"You bastard!" I shouted. "Give that back!"  
"Why, so you can kill me?" He laughed again, his voice dark and deep.

"Yes!" I yelled.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Iccarius taunted me, swinging the ax up- he caught it, glanced to me, and then threw it into the snow, several yards away. His worker drones were nowhere to be found. Apparently, he decided he could tie up and abuse a girl all on his own, without anyone there holding his hand.

The corners of his mouth lifted. "Abuse? Who said anything about abuse?" I glared sullenly through him, and he knelt in the snow as to catch my eye. "I'm just here to sway you to our cause."

I spat in his face; he wiped it away grimly and then stared me down. "Suck it, Ike, you'll never get me on your side."  
"What a disrespectful little girl," Iccarius remarked, ruffling my hair like an understanding parent. I threw a few choice words in his direction that dissolved any notions that I was a child. He seemed taken aback by my language. "Ivory, no man is going to want a girl who curses like a sailor."  
"Really?" I snapped. "This morning seems to have proved you wrong." My voice was supposted to be taunting, but I sounded like a frat boy kissing and telling; hardly the mature thing to do, but I lived to push buttons.  
His eyes flashed with flames of rage and- if I was not mistaken, and I sincerely hoped I was- jealously. He pushed me backwards into the snow and kicked me in the side.  
"You slut," He jeered, his face twisted with anger. "Running around after all the Dark-Hunters; is it because they keep you safe from the monsters in your nightmares? _What good are they? What good?_" By this time, he'd kicked me a few more times- I was bleeding, the blood staining the snow beneith me like a nasty red Snow-Cone. He was screaming now, his words coming quickly and almost inintelligably- it took me a minute to realize what he'd said to me.

I did not speak, because when he knocked me back and into the puddle of my own blood pooling under my ribs, my wrists- tied behind my back with thin but sturdy rope- became wet with blood and regained some sort of mobility. I arched my back and rotated my wrists inconspiciously while Iccarius ranted on and on. If I could just-

"We could have ruled together! Overthrown it all and reigned over all who were left; the king and queen of the free world! But you, you selfish little bitch, you ruined it! _Ruined it!"  
_He kicked me again and I cried out, falling back down on my wrists and hearing something crack. I screamed again, the agony of my most likely broken wrists hitting me like a semi in the middle of rush hour. Losing focus on my chance to escape, I hardly registered that my wrist slipped out of the last of the binding.

This seemed to calm Iccarius down. He glanced down at me and raked his hands through his hair. "Bleeding- you're bleeding. Have to stop the bleeding."  
"Get away from me!" I screamed as he approached, trying to help- in his sick little sense of the word. He looked a little worried, and raked his hands through his hair again; was this sicko bi-polar or what?  
"I have to stop the bleeding!" Iccarius shouted at me. I shook my head and continued to hold my hands behind my back, as though I was still bound. This guy was one sick cookie- he seemed to be losing it.

He looked to me and his face lost most of its malice- for a second, he was the lost boy that me-in-a-past-life had loved and married. The former ruler of the free world gave a sigh and then looked to me with pleading eyes.  
"Come back with me. Rule with me- be my queen again."  
"So you can throw me out of a window?" I snapped. "Not fucking likely."  
"Ivory. I need you to rule with me."  
"Fat chance!" I yelled. His eyes lost the pleading, lost boy look and then became the eyes of the cold Grecian general once again. He turned his back on me and walked away; for a second I considered running- however, he turned around again quickly and faced me. This time, my ax- a present from Stryker, with its black body and inscribed gold Grecian luck charms- was in his hands. He weighed it and then walked back towards me.

"Then I'll have to kill you," He said with an almost apologetic air. I looked up as he raised the ax high above his head, and avoided eye contact with me. This would be my only time to act.

At the exact second that he ax came swinging down on a crash course withh my head, I leaped up and threw myself to the side to avoid impact. Iccarius stopped and stared at me. Slowly, I stood and showed my bloodstained wrists, now free of injury, an almost crazed smile crossing my face.

I manifested a sword and looked down at the ax in my once-husband's hands, an eyebrow raised. The sword in my grip became an ax, and Iccarius laughed, stating, "Now the playing field is level- let the best man win."  
"She will," I snapped, when he swung the ax at me. I countered with a swining hit to his throat, which missed-barely. His next hit took a few hairs off my head, and then I kicked him in the stomach, which sent him doubling over for a fraction of a second. Iccarius jumped back up and came at me with the weapon again, but I smashed his nose with the flat side of the ax, causing him to stumble back with a curse. When he looked up again, I realized his nose had healed, leaving only a little dried blood. His Cheshire-esque grin evoked feelings of hopelessness and anger.

How do you kill someone who can't be broken?  
Fortunately, I couldn't be, either, so I supposed it would be better to have that question left unanswered.

I jumped out of the way of a near-deadly hit that could have seperated my head from my shoulders and then brought down my ax upon Iccarius' shoulder. He shouted out and then grabbed my ankle, bringing me down into the snow. Our blood stained the ground and I sprawled out, trying to get away from him, clawing at the snow. He grabbed my legs and pulled me back, his hands scratching my legs and probably breaking open my skin.

I kicked him, but to no avail. The angry red flames were back in his eyes- I could see his teeth- sharpened to points, points that could cut and break my skin. Kicking him away, I fought back a scream, scrambling for my ax.

He reached his before I reached mine, and then kicked me to the ground again, pulling the ax up over his shoulder. His eyes still blazed.

At the exact moment that there would have been impact, and I would have been dead, there was a shout from the edge of the dark woods. Iccarius looked up, and I kicked him in a place men do not like to be kicked. He doubled over once more, moaning in agony, and I grabbed my ax from his hands. With a grim sense of pride, I kicked Iccarius over and laid my foot upon his neck, tilting up his head.

"Ivy," He said softly, "Don't do this. You know you don't have to do this."  
"Yes I do," I crooned softly. "I have to end this little game you've played with me. I do."

"No, Ivory, please, hear me out- you loved me once, you can't kill me now; oh, you can't- please. . ."  
"Stop begging, you whelp," I sneered, glowering down at him. "You are even less of a man than I remember."  
"Ivory!"  
I turned around swiftly to find the source of the voice- It was then that Iccarius grabbed the axe and held its sharp blade to my throat. I pushed the handle onto his hand an he cursed, spinning me around and hitting me. I swung another hit at his most personal parts and he caught my foot, spinning me and pinning me to the ground.  
"You little-" He began to snarl, but he was interrupted when the bullet ripped into his arm and he fell to the ground with a scream. He writhed in agony as the skin in his arm burned, and every time he touched the burning hole in his arm, his fingers burned.

"You just almost got your head chopped off by your own ax," A voice chuckled from behind the shadows of the trees around which I had been hiding only moments earlier. I heard the gun being loaded again and then I looked up to see Spawn aiming at the bastard scum writhing on the ground, moaning in agony. Freezing in my place, I stared at him without saying a thing.

"A simple thank you would suffice," He said, his voice almost taunting.

"Thank you for doing what I was about to do before you distracted me," I snapped, putting my hands on my hips. He raised his eyebrows and smirked at me, as handsome as he had been this morning.

"Oh, Ivory. Always independent, aren't we?"  
"Yes," I snapped, walking swiftly towards the twitching body of Iccarius, laying in the snow in a miserable puddle of blood and ichor. I brought the ax down on his neck and Iccarius dissapeared in a golden cloud of dust, and that was that.

I wiped my hands on the front of my pants, and then I blew the last of the gold powder from my hands before looking at Spawn.

"Well, what do you want?" I asked bitterly. He blinked to me, and then spoke the words that shocked me.

"I want you to come home."

A/N

Hey guys! I'm so sorry, it's been such a long time since I updated. This isn't going to happen again, I'm going to get more on track with my writing now that summer's started. Again, I apologize, I didn't mean to keep you guys waiting.  
Hope you can forgive me. Oh, also forgive my horrible spelling in this chapter. . . I seem to have lost the Spell Check button. . . D:

Heheh. Things are starting to move along, and people are actually dying now! :D Okay. I'll get started on chapter 17 now. As always, questions or ideas, message me.

3  
Kae.


	17. The Garden of Electrified Chairs

The only thing I really registered on the car ride back home-and by home, I mean Spawn's house- was that it was snowing and that Ben Folds Five's Brick was playing on a scratchy, faint radio station that the SUV was picking up. I like that song. I started singing along under my breath, softly. Spawn seemed to ignore me- he turned the radio off, and I glowered at him.  
"Hey-" I started, and then the radio flicked on once more. Neither of us had touched it, and I turned away to hide my victorious smile.

"She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly, off the coast and I'm headed nowhere-"

The radio clicked off again and Spawn looked over at me. "Your hair is black now," he said, blinking as though he had just noticed. "Did you dye it today?"  
"It's been black for three months," I snapped. "If you had seen me at all in that time, you would have noticed. . . Or maybe not." I was a bit miffed that he hadn't noticed last night, actually. I glared at the ground.  
"Ivory, don't start this," He said, sounding bothered. Good.  
"I can start whatever I damn well want to start!" He did not look at me, he just sighed and shook his head, looking rather irritated. I curled up into a little ball on the leather seat and wrapped my arms around my legs, resting my head on my knees and facing the window. "Why do you want me to come back? I can't stay, you know- Stryker will be looking for me soon, if I don't go back home."  
"That isn't your home."  
"Really? Living there for almost half a year, all my stuff is there. . . It sure seems like a home, doesn't it?"  
"No." Spawn's answer was short and final. I cut him a glare before I turned back to the window and daydreamed about moving somewhere warm.

"That's very funny, Ivory."  
"Do you think I'm kidding?" I snapped, looking up at him, glaring through him.

"No, unfortunately, I don't. I know you'd leave here as soon as you could book a flight back to Miami." If only it were that simple. "It isn't, though, it never will be."  
"Get out of my head," I demanded through grit teeth. He frowned over at me, shook his head, and then turned back to the road. We were silent for a mile or two.

"Why are you making me go back?" I asked quietly. He was quiet, and for a brief moment I thought he hadn't heard me- I was about to speak again when he remarked,

"You killed Iccarius tonight."  
I frowned at him. "I know- but I didn't say anything about that, I-"  
"You're not going to be safe with those Daimons. They can't keep you safe."  
"And I suppose you think you can?" I snapped angrily. He was silent again.

"I know I can." I looked up and then shook my head.  
"You're a fool," I remarked disdainfully. "A damned fool."  
"I knew that already. And do you know what else I know?"  
"That I don't want to stay with you?"  
"I know that even though you claim to know otherwise, I know that I can keep you safer than any Daimon who could ever try. You're not going to be safe on your own- not with Ebony coming after you. She's going to be out for revenge and the only thing that is going to satisfy her is the feel of your heart's final beat in her hands. She's not going to stop until your body lies dead at her feet."  
"You don't know anything about my sister."  
"And neither do you- besides, I'm a bit more educated in the ways of revenge than you, my little Ivy."  
"Don't call me that," I grumbled against the car window, still pouting out into the darkness, trying to ignore my stirring heart. I wanted to hate Spawn- but why. . .? He didn't do anything, he wasn't to blame-

"Get out of my head!" I snapped angrily. Spawn did not look at me, did not even aknowledge that I had spoken. I glanced back to make sure he was not watching and then I slipped back into my daydream of warm beaches and summer sun, as far away from Alaska as humanly possible.

"Ivory, you need to calm down."  
"Calm down? Calm down?" I laughed crazily. "Are you kidding me? You ignore me for five months because your squire- who works for you- tells you to, and then when you do see me, you use me for sex and then get out of my house like the devil is on your heels-"

"You kicked me out," He said, his voice empty. I shook my head, and then he raised an eyebrow, taking a sharp turn into the snowbank by the side of the road, barely avoiding clipping it with his SUV. Spawn turned to me and gave me a bitter little smile.

"I did not kick you out, you liar; you left of your own accord. I know what happened- it was this morning. I don't forget things that quickly."

"Are you not listening to this conversation?You are a Dark-Hunter and I am a Squire!"

"And I am in love with you! Who cares about what we are? Acheron doesn't even notice any of us anymore! He'd never know!"  
"No, no no. We are not doing this."  
"Doing what?"

"I need you to leave."

He raised an eyebrow and blinked at me, crossing his arms, and then I frowned deeply.

"I didn't say that." His jaw dropped.  
"Are you kidding me?" He shouted. "That is what you said, word-for-word!"  
"I want to go home," I snapped. "It's almost daytime, and I am tired. I killed a man tonight. It's time for me to go home."  
"Ivory, we need to talk about this."  
"I want to go home," I told him. Tears began to prick my eyes, and so I looked away and tried to ignore them, hoping Spawn would not see. I did not look up when he attempted to grab my arm and pull me towards him.

"Ivory-" He began, and I pushed him away.  
"Take me back home, please." He did not speak; instead, he turned the keys in the ignition, reversed out of the snowbank, and then powered down the snowy drive towards his home.

Next up on the radio was Keane. I listened for a minute and then leaned forward to switch it off. Spawn caught my hand and I felt a shock travel through my hand. I looked up at him, and then pulled my hand away.

"Sorry," He muttered. I shrugged and looked away, back out the window. "Ivory?"  
I wiped away phantom tears before I looked up at him. "What?"  
"I meant what I said."  
"Sorry?"  
"I love you." I nodded.  
"I'm sure you did- unfortunately."  
"What do you mean?"  
I laughed bitterly. "Even if I loved you, this wouldn't ever have a chance of working."  
"Why?" He seemed to have ignored the 'even if I loved you'.

"Because I'm not a squire anymore- I'm not supposed to know you guys exist, and I'm especially not supposed to get involved with one of you. Last night was a one-time occurrence. It can't happen again. You aren't supposed to have long-term commitments. Read: No true loves.

"And in addition to that, I'm going to die in a handful of years. If not a few days from now. . ."  
"I'm not going to let you die!" He said, his voice fearsome and angry. Then it became quiet and soft again. "Ivory, I can't let you die. I love you. I'll find a way to keep you alive."  
"I'm not going Daimon," I told him matter-of-factly. "And if I did, I'd want you to kill me."  
"You'd change your mind if you became one."  
"That doesn't change the fact that I'm telling you now that if I ever become a daimon, you have to kill me."  
"Do you even know what you're asking me?"  
"To spare me a fate worse than death, and if you truly do love me, you'll do this for me." I looked up at him and then took his hand. He would not look at me. "Please. Spawn. If you love me. . ."  
"You can't ask me to do something like that."  
"Spawn!" I felt the tears forming in the corners of my eyes. "Please. We knew this was going to happen."  
"It doesn't have to!"  
"What will you do, keep me with you? Go out and kill our kind, and then come home to me? Would you be able to face that?"  
"For you." His voice was a little less than a whisper- and I barely picked it up, but when I did, the tears began again and my body shook with a loud sob.

"I don't want this to happen; but it is inevitable. We both knew when I found out what I was, that one day soon you were going to have to let me go. There is no future for us." As I said the words, they echoed around us in the silence. Someone had turned off the radio while we'd been talking.  
Spawn loved me enough that he willing to let me become the very thing he hunted, just to keep me alive and to continue being able to see me. I didn't know if it was touching or just creepy.

I sighed and rested my head against the window, keeping my eyes closed until we reached home once more. Looking up at the house, a shadow against the grey-pink dawn, I noted that all of the lights were off. Was Jen shirking on her duties, or had she decided to take the evening off?  
"She's probably asleep," Said Spawn disdainfully. "She's been quite a poor excuse for a squire in the last few months."

"Beggars can't be choosers," I said, still looking up to the house. He cut me a vicious look and then exited the vehicle, taking a second to open my door before wading a path through the snow towards the front door. I stopped and looked up at the house before stating, "I don't have any of my things with me. Clothes, toothbrush-"  
"I have spares," He remarked. I stepped back.

"I'm not using Jen's goddamn toothbrush."  
"Calm down- it's an extra. Not hers." I watched him for another long moment before I trudged through the snow after him.

"Why do you have extras?" I asked nonchalantly, though still on guard. Spawn glanced down to me and then fumbled for his keys.

"In case you decided to come back," He said, and I detected no lie in his strong, deep voice. He would not look at me as he unlocked the door.  
"That's really-" I began, but before I could finish he shut the door, spun me around, and held me against it.

"You're going to say it's stupid, and just wishful thinking. Hell, maybe it is. But I was dumb enough to believe that you loved me too, and that some day we'd be together again, and this time I wouldn't have to give you up. So call it stupid. It was just a way for me to hold on to what little hope I have left in the world." He spoke quickly and softly, so that I had to pay close attention to his lips as he spoke to try to catch each of his words. His voice only held the tiniest hint of malice, though his black eyes flashed dangerously as he spoke, roaming over my face to gauge my reaction.

I paled and searched for words, opening and closing my mouth a few times to try and get back into the habit of talking. And when words failed, I pulled him close and kissed him, wrapping my arms around his neck and breathing in his scent.

He pulled away, looking down to me. "I love you," He breathed.

"Don't say that," I snapped. "I don't want you to."  
"Would you rather I hated you?"  
I was silent. I contemplated this for a moment, and then looked up at him. "I don't quite know," I admitted. I looked away and frowned, leaning against the door. My voice became a quiet, contemplative murmur. "I don't know. . ."

"Well," He said, breaking my concentration, "It's nearly dawn. Jen will be up soon."  
"She's going to see me here and call the squire council," I said, my eyes wide.  
"She's not going to see you until I want her to," He said with an assuring smile. I frowned at him.

"Why?"  
"Because you're sleeping in my room, and she's not allowed in there." Spawn smiled to me and brushed the bangs from my forehead, kissing the place where his fingers had rested for a split second. I raised an eyebrow to him.

"How come you haven't gotten around to replacing her?" I asked. "Isn't there something in the code about not being squired by a lover from a past life?"  
He frowned and his eyes became distant. "There's also something about not sleeping with squires," He said coldly, beginning up the staircase. I followed on his heels, not understanding his sudden anger.

"What did I say?" I asked delicately. I tried to tough his arm but he roughly shoved my hand away. I recoiled as though he'd hit me, which he might as well have. Spawn was never like this; at least, not with me.

"Spawn! What did I say? What is wrong?" I grabbed his arm tightly and then walked in front of him, before he could enter his room.  
"Be quiet- you're going to wake her up."  
"Who gives a damn if she wakes up; tell me what I did!" I demanded, stomping my foot. I heard footsteps from the other end of the hall; my old room, to be exact. I looked up at him in disbelief. He said nothing, but ushered me into his room and shut the door. It was dark. I fumbled for a light switch- of course, there was none. Stupid creature of the night.

I sat in the darkness while Spawn explained the noise to a half-awake Jen, who was beginning to awaken to face the day, while her boss and his- oh, god, what was I? Female friend?- were ending theirs. I found my way to the bed and sat down, not bothering to search for a candle or matches; I could see, just not well. Crossing my arms, I worked on my angry face.

The door opened again a few moments later- I saw in the darkness that a handsome half smile graced Spawn's lips, when only a moment earlier he had been in the foulest of moods.

"You look happy," I muttered, slipping out of my jacket. He blinked at me and then frowned, as though he did not understand me. I sighed and waited for him to light at least one candle. When he did so, I began to undress, starting with my shoes.  
"What are you doing?" He asked, looking surprised. I shook my head.  
"You can't expect me to sleep in my shoes and jeans, can you?" I asked irritably, sitting down to pull said jeans down. His mouth formed a silent 'oh' and then he walked to his chest of drawers, searching for a moment and then finding an old cotton tee shirt, which he tossed to me. I pulled it over my head and when I did, I looked down to see him laying in the bed, kicking off his shoes. He laced his arms behind his head and rested it on them, laying back calmly.  
"Aren't you going to change into your pajamas?" I asked. He gave me a blank look.

"What pajamas?" I froze and my eyes grew wide. He continued to watch me as though I had sprouted an extra pair of eyes. Then his gaze traveled down to the floor.

"I'm going to sleep now," I said quietly, pulling a pillow and a few blankets from the bed and taking them across the room, setting them on the floor. Spawn walked over and returned the blankets and pillows to his bed, grabbing my wrists loosely.

"Here," He said, motioning to the other side of the bed. I shook my head and reached to grab a pillow, to take it with me back to my safe haven of No-Spawn-Allowed space. "Ivory!"  
"What?" I snapped, "You honestly aren't expecting me to sleep with you."  
He paused and then began, "I'm not expecting-"  
I brought my hand up to silence him, and when he was quiet, I said, "No, I didn't mean it like that. I should have phrased that better- but I know you understood what I mean."  
"I really don't," Spawn said, looking slightly irritated.

"You were absent from my life for half a year- and now we're back to this. . . It's too soon. I can't move this quickly."  
"Ivory-"  
"Spawn, no."  
"I'll stay as far away from you as possible; you won't even-"  
"No."  
"I don't want you sleeping on the floor, though!"  
I smiled, knowing he'd try to pull that card. "Then you do it."  
And that is how, on the first night back, Spawn ended up curled up by his desk in an angry ball covered in a small blanket, clutching his pillow as though he might strangle it, and how I won the bed.

Ebony awoke with a start, her red eyes opening wide with shock. She did not know why, but an electric current had just pulsed through her body, warming her and freezing her heart into stopping all at once.

"Hello?" She called, as though one of the mindless drones her Iccarius had employed would answer. Plebeians, the lot of them. Mindless and dirty, killing for the hell of it and killing anything with a pulse that got in their way. Times were, they'd kill her if Iccarius wasn't there to monitor them.

The future queen of the world looked about to see if there was anything within her chambers that might shock her into consciousness. Her body had been wrapped in the silken sheets, not too warm, nor too cold. No one was attacking, and none of the brainless oafs had stumbled in here to try to loot her rooms. So what was out of place?

Where is Iccarius? She thought, glancing about. That was it. Now it was close to midnight, and her beloved had disappeared; another nightly patrol, no doubt.

But was something like this enough to wake her from a lovely dream? She had been back in the halls of Olympus, being cared for and pampered by the beautiful male lovers of the god Zeus. One had been about to-

Never mind that now, she thought briskly, spiriting the thoughts away, storing them in her mental file cabinet. She had to find Iccarius, now she had to. It was dire.

"Iccarius!" She cried, her voice sounding strange and hoarse to her own ears. What was wrong with her tonight? She was not herself. Ebony had to return to the cool, distant emotions that she reserved for the idiots. Panic would not bring Iccarius home more quickly.

Ebony padded down the marble hall in her stocking feet, wearing nothing but her black silk nightgown with the lace appliqués across the chest, and her black stockings, her hair pulled back into a long, elegant pony tail. She had been waiting for Iccarius to return to bed when she fell asleep- ready to surprise him. Now where could he have disappeared to?  
"Iccarius. . . " She called, drawing his name out, enjoying the sensation that the name caused on her tongue. She called out again- nothing.

He's just searching for Ivory; I know it. He'll be back soon. I know he will. This one won't leave me. He promised. She felt her breathing fall into an uneven pattern, and then she touched a hand to her chest delicately, steadying herself. Ebony clutched for the wall and found a vase instead- her grip slipped from it and she almost tumbled. In anger, she picked up the china and hurled it towards a closed door with an unintelligible shriek.

When her heavy breathing subsided, she looked around to survey the damage she had caused- she continued back towards her room, lest this violence be attributed to her.

Something had happened- she just didn't know what. And she knew that was the reason she had awoken so suddenly. It was not a draft, it was not the sudden absence of a lover. Something terrible had happened to her Iccarius.

Ebony just wished she knew what the hell had happened. Her hands crawled over her stomach and she felt a wave of illness come over her; she had to get to a bathroom. Worrying about Iccairus would have to wait.

It was only when she had curled up beside the toilet and unloaded the contents of her stomach that Ebony realized another reason why she had been awakened thinking of her lover. She collapsed against the tile wall as the truth hit her, and then she slammed her head back with a groan, realizing what Iccarius had done to her.

The young goddess clutched the sides of her head and groaned again, resisting the urge to kill herself before it was truly necessary. This was not in the original plan; they would have to work around it. But they could. With Iccarius at her side, she could do anything.

If only he'd come home. . .

I awoke. I was not sure what time it was, but I awoke. Following my normal routine, I laid in bed for a few moments, attempting to keep my eyes open, and almost giving in to sleep again. I stretched my arms out and then attempted to sit up, feeling something that was not the mattress to my left. Looking over, I saw Spawn curled up in the blanket next to me, still very fast asleep.

He looked adorable- his features had relaxed and he seemed to sleep soundly, a lock of blond hair falling over his forehead. He had the blanket tightly wound around him; he left me almost no blanket. I had a feeling this would happen often. And for some reason, it made me smile.

Oh, god damnit, Ivory; no.

What?  
You can't.

But-

No.

If I just-

NO.

Still in the middle of losing a battle with my voice of reason, I reached over automatically and brushed the hair from his forehead and he suddenly grabbed my wrist, rolling me over onto his chest. His arms wrapped tightly around me, and his eyes stayed closed. I was not sure if he was still asleep or not- his features were still relaxed, but I wasn't quite sure.

"Spawn?" I whispered tentatively. No response. Nothing but his calm, relaxed breathing. He was still asleep, after all.

As I watched him, I suddenly felt the need to leave. The anger that began to surge through my veins was unbearable. If I didn't leave, I might shoot him or something. Where had he been for the last five months, when I'd been on my own, struggling to go on without him and doing the best I could? He'd been here, in his nice house, with Jen. Not me.

I tried deep breathing to avoid violence, because if he didn't get his paws off me, I was going to end up in big trouble for killing one of Ash's immortal warriors.

I unlaced his hands and attempted to free myself, struggling with the strong man. Eventually I broke out of his grip, and he rolled over onto his side, still sound asleep. I grabbed my phone off of the nightstand. I really wasn't sure why I kept the damn thing- I never talked to anyone, since no one really knew I was still alive. It was three p.m., and the light from outside was nonexistent in the windowless room.

Did I dare go downstairs? Jen was there. Did I want to risk her seeing me- calling in the assistance of the coucil? I could sneak out through the garage, if Jen was otherwise occupied. But where would I go? Back home, I supposed. But I didn't have the keys for the SUV. I'd have to find them without waking Spawn.

I rolled over onto my feet and tiptoed to the door, pulling on my jeans and jacket, holding my shoes in my hand as to not make a sound. By the time I reached the garage door, located off of the kitchen, I had still not run into Jen, a fact for which I was extremely thankful. I turned the knob and then it turned from the other side, too.

I froze as the door opened, almost slamming into me. I stepped back and closed my eyes, as though if I closed my eyes the monster on the other side couldn't see me, either.

And then I was invisible, and Jen glanced around as though she had sensed the resistance on the knob. She frowned and looked around, walking close to me. I held my breath as to make no sound.

"Spawn?" She said softly. Obviously, there was no response.

I slipped into the garage, barely audible even to my own ears, and when I accidentally caught my foot on the door, it slammed behind me. Shit.

Upon hearing a surprised gasp from inside, I took off running down the stairs towards the garage doors. If I could reach the doors before she looked to see who it was- or god forbid, began shooting- I would be safe. I could-

BANG.

The oil on the shelf right by my head exploded when the bullet hit it. Jen was a better shot than I remembered, but I supposed she'd had time to practice.

Two more shots rang out, and one grazed my leg- the other one buried itself in the small of my back. I screamed out in pain like a wounded demon and then she yelled, "Come out with your hands up!" Like some lame TV cop.

Instead of yielding to her orders, I lay down on the ground and felt like I was dying. And I was actually totally okay with that. My eyes closed and I felt snow on my eyelashes.

Snow? That couldn't be right.

I opened my eyes regretfully and then looked around. No, that was right- I was in the middle of the snowy glen where I had killed Iccarius only hours ago.

And in the instant after I rose shakily to my feet, my setting changed and my feet gave way again. I was in a garden, as beautiful as the one in the bible. Or, like, what it probably looked like.

There were two empty thrones at the end of the pathway where I was laying. I frowned at glanced between them. One was constructed of ivory, and shining in the invisible but still warm sun. The other was black as my hair and also shining; this was more menacing, though, and seemed dangerous, for a chair.

I frowned at them both, and approached, trying to rest my hand on the white one. It sent a shock through my hand and I jumped back with a shout.

Was this garden of electrified chairs abandoned? Who did it belong to, if the answer was no?

Where was the world?

I wandered around for a little while before I realized that my jeans and the t-shirt I'd borrowed from Spawn- a little too big for me, but still warm- had disappeared. My shoes were gone, too. I was wearing a long dress, cinched at the waist and flowing down to my feet, the color of eggshells with gold trim. My feet were bare.  
Where the fuck was I?  
This peaceful garden, probably spanning acres, didn't seem like a place that my mom would take me. She was more of a 'hellfire and damnation' kind of a mommy, not a Disneyworld mom.

So why was I here? And who had brought me here?  
This place was silent and smelled- I lifted my head and sniffed the air- it smelled like absolutely nothing. The air was light and almost nonexistent. Was I in the past, like in that Stephen King movie I saw on Syfy once, The Langoliers?

"Hello?" I cried, close to panic. Obviously I had no weapons concealed in this dress, and I would have to fight any foes single-handedly. My brain went into panic overload and I screamed out again.

I felt a hand slink over my mouth, but when I looked, no one was there. I glanced around, searching for my unseen attacker, flailing my hands out trying to rebel. Once my mouth was bound, hands pushed me, attempting to knock me down. I fought back for a few moments before I came to a strange conclusion.  
They were not trying to knock me down, I realized- but to guide me. But where? I did not bother asking. I simply followed.

The hands settled on my back and pushed me forward, tapping me back into line when I strayed.

We reached a clearing and I glanced around. This clearing, too, looked like the woods in which I had murdered my once-love. I glanced around. This was still the garden of the electrified chairs. Right?  
Right.

"Who is the-?" I began to ask aloud, and then the sinister little voice inside of my mind whispered again, its voice laced with venom and hate, yet somehow soothing.

Take the stone, princess. It is yours. It is your destiny.

"But-" I began, before I was interrupted by more than one of the venom voices.

YES TAKE THE STONE LIFT IT FROM ITS PLACE AND TAKE IT IS YOUR DESTINY TO YES TAKE

YOURS

TAKE

DESTINY TO

YES  
TAKE!  
I shouted out as my brain was bombarded with the screaming, high pitched, like the whine of heavy machinery. I fell to the ground as the demonic screaming continued.

TAKE TAKE TAKE TAKE TAKE TAKE TA-

"STOP IT!" I screamed in response, covering my ears with my hands and continuing to scream. The screaming inside my head fell to a dull whine, like an irritating bug. I knew there was no use in swatting at it, it was not about to go away.

What was this stone that the voices in my head had been talking about? I groaned as I thought this, feeling entirely insane. I glanced around. 'Take it from its place'. Where the hell was its place?

The place where the light touches the earth and the earth touches the sky and the sky touches-

"I didn't ask you!" I yelled. The voices returned to the quiet mumble in the back of my head.

Christ on a cracker, I was insane.

I heard Ben Folds Five's Brick again. It was nicer to hum that under my breath than to listen to my inner crazy, so I did, as I walked around looking for the rock that the voices told me to find. (See earlier mention of Jesus and snack food.)

And that is when I saw the pedestal.

It was hidden in the garden, closer to the chairs than I had originally thought, where the invisible sun hit the crest of one of the hills. I noted that it was pretty much where the voices had told me it would be. Grrrrr-eat.

The large marble pedestal held a small silk black box, like something an engagement ring would come in. I hated engagement rings, therefore I assumed I would hate whatever was in this box.

Until I walked to it and opened it, to the appreciative murmurs of the voices. They were growing loud and rowdy again. I snapped at them to shut up as I revealed the rock inside of the engagement ring box. It was a medium sized stone, stamped with a strange Grecian symbol. It swirled with each and every color of the rainbow, and a few I'd never seen before.

As I reached forward to touch it, the box shut. The voices grew more unsettled.

Don't touch it. But remove it from its place.

I paused and thought of how to do this.

And then I grabbed the box and slipped in into the pocket that had suddenly appeared in my dress.

And that was when the visions assaulted me, along with the voices, which were unfortunately screaming again. I saw a girl running through the garden. Searching. The hands didn't harm her, didn't push her. She slashed at them and they seemed to have withered. She searched. She torched the trees searching. She screamed with the voices.

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

(I think I made you up inside my head)

I felt the burning pain surge through my hand after I removed it from the box. I screamed again. My hand was on fire. But there was not a mark on it. What was wrong with me? Was I insane?

GET OUT NOW-  
I was running now-

BEFORE SHE KNOWS YOU WERE HERE-

The trees began to burn around me-

IF SHE SEES IT IS GONE YOU WILL DIE-

I ran past the thrones, which now crackled with visible electricity-

GET OUT PRINCESS LEAVE NOW LEAVE! GO! GO GO GO GO

TAKE IT IT IS YOUR DESTINY GOOOOOOOOOO-  
I broke through the barrier into reality as the portal between this world and wherever the hell that was fizzled and popped into nonexistence. I watched it as the voices screamed on, begging me to leave, not knowing I was already gone. The rim of the portal was purple now, fading slowly into a light blue.  
Then as soon as it had appeared, it was gone. The voices, the hands, the chairs- everything.

And I passed out, almost dead, with my face in the snow.

I was too tired to dream, but I know that if I could, they would have been haunted by thee tree-burning girl and her search for the stone that was now keeping my pocket very warm. I slept on, blissfully unaware of the fact that if I was fully human, I would be well on my way to developing hypothermia. The snow made a nice pillow.

Coming into consciousness every once in a while, I had the same questions every time. Where was I? What was going on? What was the stone?  
And each time, the tiny voice in the back of my head, so much nicer than those I'd encountered in the garden, told me to go to sleep again, and that everything would be all right and when I woke up I would be strong again and ready to face my destiny.

And each time, I obeyed.

Until I was fully rested again and I attempted to sit up, feeling the after effects of being shot in the back. I cursed quietly under my breath as I attempted to lay back down, finding the snow to be too cold. I rested fitfully for a few more minutes, attempting to keep my eyes closed.

Eventually I looked up, trying to get a grip on my surroundings. I saw the hollowed out shell that was one La Vie. And then I saw the clearing that had been so prominent in-

-in what? I couldn't recall. It had something to do with the box that now rested in my pocket. And burning trees. Something about burning trees-

Well, of course there were burning trees. I'd committed arson last night, and if I could recall a bit more, murder. Though it technically wasn't murder if he had tried to kill me first. Which he had been doing for a few years now. So it was justified.

But no, there was more to it than that. The trees that had been burning were not here. I remembered some voices, too. And hands.

Whose?  
Spawn's?  
No, not him.  
I remembered my wound, in the middle of my back. I was surprised my guts were not hanging out. Grimacing, I realized they probably were. I didn't want to survey the damage my dear OFF had done to my stomach and any of my other internal organs. Making a note to return the favor in kind, I glanced around again.

Why was I here? And more importantly, how did I get here?  
It was then that I remembered a certain goddess who had promised to help me in any time of need during this ordeal. And with the bit of energy that I had stored up during my thoughtful moments, I whispered into the sky,

"Aphrodite, I summon you."  
It took a minute, but eventually the goddess revealed herself. Instead of rushing to help me, she skirted my body to avoid getting blood on her shoes. A typical goddess.

"What the hell happened to you?"  
"Take me home."  
She paused and seemed to fight with herself. "But- Olympus isn't- we can't-"  
"Not there," I breathed quietly.  
She snapped her fingers. "The hunter! The one you-"  
"No," I snapped back. "His darling Penelope was the one who did this to me."  
The goddess' face fell slightly. "I can take you to that other hunter's, but-" "Yes, there. Please." She brushed her blond hair back from her face and she nodded, looking a bit at unease, and I didn't blame her. I looked like hell. She reached down to tentatively touch my forehead, as though gunshot wounds were contagious, and the goddess of love murmured an incantation under her breath, too low for even my ears.

I felt as though my skin was peeling away, bit by bit, but the job was done and when my head stopped spinning, I saw that she had deposited me outside of Zarek's cabin. Not inside, mind you, like any cosiderate goddess would have done for a possibly dying warrior. On the front step, like a newspaper. Which I doubt he had delivered.

I knocked on the door, leaning against the frame to support myself. There was no answer from within, and I felt my heart stop and then start again. I had to get inside. I had to get away from the cold, away from the pain, I had to-

Trying the door, I found it locked. I cursed and kicked the frame, feeling my own powers slowly attempting to repair my body. I was going to need more sleep. Lots more sleep.

Honestly, I could pass out right here and be okay with it- except I knew I wasn't safe out here. Summoning up some of my power, I pushed the bar holding the door shut away so that it swung freely.

His cabin was, in fact, empty. There was no sign of life, spare the rattling in the stove which I did not have the energy to open. Sliding the bar back over the door, I stumbled over and then collapsed into Zarek's bed. There was a note on the small table. I summoned it over to me and tried to read it, but all the words jumbled together and I gave up on it angrily.

Listening to the winds whip at the sides of the structure, and feeling very safe and sound indeed, I closed my eyes and attempted to sleep again. I was out like a light in two minutes flat.

This time when I slept, I dreamed. My dreams have always been a little weird, and this was especially strange.  
I saw the girl again. At first, I believed she was my sister- but then I looked close and noticed that her curls were dark, but not black, and her eyes were a haunted wide violet that my sister's never were.

She was on the outskirts of a smoky room, surrounded by the luxury and class that her thin cotton dress and modest jewelry did not suggest. She clutched a large black book to her chest as she waited at the entrance of what appeared to be a Speakeasy. Couples danced to Cole Porter, clutching cigarettes and iced drinks as they swayed like trees in the dim bar. All the windows had been curtained and the only really brightly lit place was the bar, to which she meekly made her way. The girl was beautiful, but she was a sad, forgettable beautiful.

The bartender eyed her as though she should not be here, and she leaned in to be heard over the music.

"I'm here to see a Mr.. Syracuse!" She told him. He glanced both ways, as though he would see a sign that read THIS IS A TRAP; he seemed to see none, so with a glass in his hand the man pointed to the other side of the room, far away from the din of the dance.

She nodded her appreciation and then strode over to the table, moving every so often, at which time groups of girls and boys or boys or girls would slink past her. The men were dressed to the nines, in slick black suits and white pressed shirts, and the ladies all had cropped hair and souls that stared out at her from under thickly made eyes. The room was happy and alive, invigorating. But she looked too concerned to enjoy it.

Arriving at the table to which she had been summoned, the girl tapped the lone occupant on the shoulder. He glanced around and then looked to her, setting down his drink so he could stand to greet her like a gentleman should. Curtsying, she stuck out her hand.

He was a handsome man of maybe thirty or so, with a light dusting of whiskers on his rugged jaw, his black hair slicked back as was the style. He wore a suit with a red tie. It seemed garish in the sea of black-on-white suits. His eyes were black as coal, and within them she saw not a hint of a soul like she could see in most humans. It was what had prompted her to sell this information to him. It looked like he could actually use it.

"Iccairus Syracuse," He introduced himself. She shook his hand vigorously and then replied,

"You can call me Eve."  
"The original temptation," He said with a light smile. She did not recognize whether or not to smile at this, so she stayed neutral. After they sat down and the book was safe in her lap, he asked, "Can I buy you a drink?"  
"I don't," She said apologetically. "This is the first time I have set foot in an establishment like this in decades."  
"You don't look that old," Syracuse responded. She shrugged.

"We non-humans tend not to age," Eve replied nonchalantly. He shrugged in response and she smiled at how he took this in stride.  
"So, my little apple, let us retreat into business," He began, clapping his hands and smiling. She brought the book out.

"Yes, lets. How much do you know of Atlantean mythos?" She asked him, apprehensive of his answer. He might just respond by calling her insane and demanding she leave. He shrugged.  
"Enough." Iccarius' voice was short.  
"The story of the sist-" He interrupted her, which irritated her to no end, but she dared not say anything.  
"The twins of darkness and light? The perfect balance, that will determine the fate of the universe? Ebony and-" His voice caught and he finished quietly, "Ivory."  
"You've been researching the topic since I contacted you," She accused with a light smile. His face stayed grave.

"I have always known their story. And many others."  
"This is good," Eve assured him. "Then you know they cannot be killed."  
"Which brings us to our topic today," He replied with a droll smile. She nodded and pulled the book out from the booth, opening it to a passage torn from an old book, showing it to Iccarius.

He read it aloud, but under his breath, scanning the page with his soulless black eyes.

Two daughters of a Goddess of Stone,

Damned to lead lives not their own.

One will meet fate in land of ice and snow;

One falls victim of powers forever to grow

One of fire, one of sea;

Snow will lead to victory.

"Rather odd, isn't it? Not written in a very nice way." He continued to scan it.  
"I don't write them, I just get them," She replied coolly, yanking the book away from him.

"So how do I get rid of them?"  
"The talisman that contains their souls. Find it and stab it with an Atlantean dagger. And then the twins with both be detroyed."  
"How does it work?" He said in awe.  
"As soon as it is stabbed, it destroys both of the twin's life forces, which are contained within the stone. They-"  
"More brandy, sir?" A young boy walking by stopped at the table, brandishing a pitcher and holding a set of glasses under his arm. Iccarius declined but had him pour one for Eve.  
"No, I don't drink-" She began, but he silenced her with a smile, pushing the glass towards her.  
"One won't hurt. But continue before you drink, love. What happens after the stone is stabbed?"

Her eyes were very wide now- he was a handsome man, and if she played her cards right- jackpot. "The sisters share a life force. Unless a specific incantation is said as the stone is stabbed, they will both die. The time holding them to the earth, and their very matter, I believe, will unravel, leaving nothing but the traces of their souls. Can you imagine how powerful that could be, if one were to get their hands on them? The power to destroy worlds, in your possession." She grew quiet and thoughtful, staring down into her untouched glass.

"And what is that incantation?"

Eve shrugged again. "I still haven't found it."  
Iccarius frowned, sighing. "I will have to pay you when you find it, I'm afraid. None today." He clicked his tongue.

"I'm still looking, honest. It's just going to take a little more time," She promised, and then she shrunk back a bit. He smiled warmly, but it was a bit too snake-like for her taste. She laughed nervously. "If you're not going to pay me, I'm keeping the book until I get paid!" She blurted out, thinking to herself, and the stone.

The smile stayed on his face. "I don't see why this would be a problem. And now, love, a toast to the power I'm going to hold."  
"And you know what I want from this when you hold power. You promised." Her voice was eager and still very nervous.

"Yes, I suppose I did." He raised his glass and clicked it against hers, and holding her breath, she took a sip of her drink.  
It wasn't so bad, now she'd taken a drink. It went down her throat hot, like warm soup on a cold winter's day. Refreshing. Eve smiled to him, and began,

"You know, this isn't so-" Before she slumped over dead on the table.

She hadn't even realized it was the brandy before it was too late to be helped. He sat for a minute in silence before the same boy came by again, the brandy gone, but the glasses still in his hand.

"Gee, sir, is your girl alright there?" He asked, pointing a finger to Eve, whose eyes had thankfully closed. Maybe she'd been mid-blink.

"Oh, she's just not used to the strength of the stuff," He laughed, reaching over to stroke Eve's dark hair. She was already going cold. He pulled his hand back and wiped it on the seat, in case death was catching.

"Sir, about my-" Iccarius pulled his wallet from his pocket and shoved a wad of paper money and some silver into the boy's hand.

"Thank you for helping me, my boy," Iccarius said distantly. He did not hear the boy thanking him as he walked away, counting his money.  
The man frisked the girl's body for the stone and the book about his wife and his lover, taking what he wanted and then getting up to walk out of the establishment.

None of the jazz babies or their men noticed the dead girl in booth 4B, and by the time anyone did, her killer was already back on Olympus with Ebony, plotting the death of a woman he had once loved and who had yet to be born again.

Ebony knew that her damned sister had broken into her garden and taken the stone. And she knew that Iccarius was now dead, and exactly why. She was on the rampage, looking for that little bitch, turning her prison upside down searching for me and killing anything in the camp that got in her way.

She hadn't been this angry since her damned handmaiden Eve had stolen the stone and tried to sell it back to Iccarius, thinking that he would ever dream of trying to kill her. Stupid girl.

Ebony couldn't stop thinking about that now that she was in her condition. And she didn't know why. Iccarius had returned the stone to her garden, where no one would ever see it and therefore could never kill her with it. So why did she feel so off balance, so worried?  
Maybe it was just her condition. She was oversensitive and prone to crying fits- thought part of that might have been attributed to the mourning process to which she had been caught in in the hours after her love's death.

But the original theft had been almost a hundred years ago, and it had nothing to do with her stupid sister, or whatever stunt she had been trying to pull in stealing it. If she were to destroy it, she would die, too.

She sat down at her table by herself, as she had done all those years ago with her beautiful love, the father of- mustn't think of that now, she thought to herself. She must be strong. If she was not, the epidemic that her love created would swarm and destroy her.  
For now, she had to plan. And wait to strike.  
And when she did, her stupid sister would wish she had never been born.

A/N.

Dear readers.

Ya'll are awesome. Thanks for sticking around and not forgetting about me. I'm going to try to start updating more often, now that a lot of the problems I've been dealing with are getting resolved and the story is beginning to pick up a bit. Things are close to getting wrapped up- there might be a few more updates as school begins, but I am very close to the end. I even know who all dies and stuff. I'm proud of myself. :D

By the way, read Jess' book yet? I got it the first day and I have a line of people waiting to borrow it. Ha. Tell me what you think of it. . . I have another fan fiction that I might begin about Jess that I might begin after this, or I might begin something with one of Ivory's siblings. Depending on what I feel like writing about more. Or I might work on both.

As always, feedback appreciated.

Bye! 3

K.


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